Enhancing Everyday Living
A helpful guide to adapting your bathroom if you live with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Blog by Peter Whittall of Premier Care in Bathing
The Importance of Adapting Your Bathroom for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presents many challenges, and one area that can significantly impact daily life is the bathroom. For those facing difficulties, adapting the bathroom to be user-friendly, is not just a convenience but a necessity. In this article, we will explore the reasons why making your bathroom more accessible can make everyday living significantly easier for individuals with RA.
Simple tasks that most people take for granted, such as daily bathing, can become a daunting and painful experience. Therefore, adapting the bathroom is crucial for maintaining independence and improving the overall quality of life.
Small changes with big impact
Individuals with RA often face challenges in gripping, bending, and maintaining balance. Installing grab bars strategically in the bathroom can provide much-needed support for standing up, sitting down, or manoeuvring around the space. These bars can be positioned near the toilet, shower, and bathtub, offering stability, and reducing the risk of falls.
Replacing traditional taps and handles with lever-style controls can make a significant difference. Lever handles are easier to grasp and require less strength to operate, making activities like turning on the water or adjusting the temperature much more manageable. To reduce touchpoints, a shower remote can be fitted, enabling control the water temperature prior to entering. This will also eliminate the need to turn dials or levers, which can be difficult, especially within a running shower that has not reached the perfect temperature.
Raising the toilet seat to a more accessible height reduces the effort required to sit down and stand up, prevents unnecessary discomfort and can be a simple adaption.
More complex bathroom adaptions
A low-threshold shower or wet room eliminates the need to step over high barriers, reducing the risk of tripping whilst non-slip flooring is essential in potentially wet areas like the bathroom. Adding a shower seat or stool to your existing space can enhance safety and comfort, reducing fatigue, and minimising the risk of falls if balance is an issue.
Are you someone who prefers a bath over a shower? If so, low-level entry baths with sealed doors offer a transformative solution for individuals living with RA. These specially designed baths provide a hassle-free entry point, eliminating the need to step over high bathtub walls, which can be particularly challenging for those with limited mobility. Warm water immersion can alleviate joint pain, reduce inflammation, and enhance overall joint flexibility.
Making a difference
Adapting the bathroom to the specific needs of those living with RA goes beyond mere convenience – it is about empowering individuals to maintain their independence and dignity. These modifications not only address the physical challenges posed by RA but also contribute to mental well-being by fostering a sense of control over one’s living environment and ultimately enhancing the overall quality of life for those dealing with the impact of RA on a daily basis.
This blog post was taken from our Spring edition of our Membership Magazine, ‘NewsRheum’ and provided to us by Premier Care in Bathing, who have chosen to support NRAS as a charity partner. If you would like the opportunity to be featured on the NRAS blog, please get in touch.
If you found this article interesting, we also have the article above on contrast hydrotherapy – which studies suggest is an effective way to reduce inflammation and joint pain. Alternatively follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and be sure to follow us for more future blogs and content on RA.
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