That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

[groovedaddy]

The other morning, I escaped unscathed from a dangerous situation. No, an armed robber didn’t break into my house, nor did I find myself face to face with a mountain lion during my bird walk. What I survived was my daily shower.

You see, falls are a common cause of death in older people like me. (I’m 75.) Among my wife’s and my circle of close friends over the age of 70, one became crippled for life, one broke a shoulder and one broke a leg in falls on the sidewalk. One fell down the stairs, and another may not survive a recent fall.

“Really!” you may object. “What’s my risk of falling in the shower? One in a thousand?” My answer: Perhaps, but that’s not nearly good enough.

Life expectancy for a healthy American man of my age is about 90. (That’s not to be confused with American male life expectancy at birth, only about 78.) If I’m to achieve my statistical quota of 15 more years of life, that means about 15 times 365, or 5,475, more showers. But if I were so careless that my risk of slipping in the shower each time were as high as 1 in 1,000, I’d die or become crippled about five times before reaching my life expectancy. I have to reduce my risk of shower accidents to much, much less than 1 in 5,475.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/science/jared-diamonds-guide-to-reducing-lifes-risks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130129

[question everything]

1. Try to install a seat

Many are available.

And, thanks for the post. One problem with the shower, or a tub is that they are slippery.

[thelordofhell]

2. put a non slip surface on your shower floor

And install handrails.........

[Lionessa]

3. This came up just the other day. I've been cleaning 'round here and

finally got out a single edge razor blade to clean the over 10 years of soap scum in the tub/shower which I had yet to actually use as I bathe entirely differently than mainstream Americans. But still I'm here, it's nice to repay a person letting me squat at his home with some hefty house cleaning. Anyway I did this while he was off visiting family for the holidays.

As I'm in the shower doing the final rinse down, I notice that the tub is VERY, VERY much more slippery than it was when I started. The fellow whose house it is happens to be over 70 and I got to worrying. So upon his return I asked if he had a shower mat or some sticky-downs for the tub floor because I wasn't going to let him use his own fabulously clean and shiny shower unless and until he had one something grippy to cover at least half the tub floor. Though he didn't like anything akin to an ultimatum, he did go out directly to the hardware store and bought a simple but effective floor mat.

I know that's not the only harm, but it's a biggy. I think removing the 10 years of black mold encrusted grout and regrouting everything with fresh grout may also extend his life a bit. I wonder how many other old folks, particularly men, are showering with molds that most consider pretty toxic because cleaning showers is "womens' work"

[progressiveinaction]

5. Curious....

About this sentence.

finally got out a single edge razor blade to clean the over 10 years of soap scum in the tub/shower which I had yet to actually use as I bathe entirely differently than mainstream Americans.

What's this bathing technique? Maybe I'm doing it wrong!

[Lionessa]

6. I knew in advance that I was likely going to have some homeless time, and water is a biggy

when homeless, so I began trying other bathing methods and settled on one resembling the ancient Egyptian oil baths. I do still wash my hair with soap and water, but the bod rarely sees a shower or bath.

[Warpy]

4. When I finally bite the bullet and have my bathroom redone

I'm seriously considering having the useless tub ripped out and replaced with a much more useful prefab shower that's big enough to accommodate a stool. Not only am I getting up there, I also have rheumatoid arthritis and the tub is getting all too dangerous. It's also too shallow for anyone over the age of 6 to take a real bath in. About all I use it for is sloshing miniblinds clean once a year or stomping out one of the rugs that's too big for the washer that the cat has puked on.

The tub just makes no sense, but I know a contractor is going to try to talk me out of it because of the resale value.