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Walk-In Tubs for Children with Cerebral Palsy
May 02, 2016
On average, 43,000 children are rushed to the hospital every year in the US due to scalds, accidental drownings, and slip-and-fall injuries suffered in the bathtub. Most of these injuries happened to children aged four and under. The reason for this is that traditional bathtubs don't take on the designs that keep bathing safe.
Adversely, walk-in tubs are built to perform in all the ways that traditional bathtubs can't. They come in so many different sizes and styles to keep bathing safe and stress-free. The variety of options out there ensures that the tub's dimensions will suit your child's particular measurements.
In this article:
- How walk-in tubs deter accidents.
- The Safe Step Cares program.
- What children with cerebral palsy can stand to benefit from walk-in bathtubs.
Below are the three most common dangers that children are subjected to when bathing and how safety tubs can help in preventing them from occurring.
Slip-and-fall accidents: Nearly 60% of bathroom injuries amongst children are reserved for slips and falls in the bathtub. Even when the floor is treated with a slip-resistant solution, the space inside is so wide for a child that it doesn't give the tight support a child needs. All walk-in tubs have slip-resistant floors, ADA-compliant seats to keep the child put, and are kept tight so that there isn't much room for a child to slip and fall.
Scalds: The anti-scald technology present with most models prevent severe skin burns.
Drowning: Walk-in tubs have emergency switches in the form of removable doors, and push-buttons located near the control panel and foot rest for a quick release of the water.
Safe Step Cares
Safe Step is a leading manufacturer of walk-in bathtubs with excellent BBB ratings and a satisfied customer following. Their Safe Step Cares program involves donating their accessible models to families that can't afford them. They did exactly that for a 13-year-old David Scarborough whose mother received a phone call one morning from a Safe Step operator to inform her of the heartfelt news. David, who has cerebral palsy - a disease that impairs muscle coordination and causes muscle spasms - was given a doctor's recommendation for a walk-in tub to support his bathing independence. Safe Step arrived with the walk-in tub they donated and installed it in his bathroom.
How Walk-In Tubs Can Help Children with Cerebral Palsy
Doctors often recommend walk-in tubs for children with cerebral palsy because of how safe and noninvasive they are. They promote safe, healthy, and independent bathing for children and seniors alike.
All accessible bathtubs can be used as soakers as a standard only with all the safety components in place which aren't found on traditional bathtubs.
Soaking reduces spasticity and the use of pain medication by allowing the muscles to relax due to the water's buoyancy. This and the hydromassage feature utilize adjustable and movable water jets to massage the muscles into a relaxation no hot tub can provide with this many safety precautions in place: A low-threshold entrance to keep entry/exit easy, grab bars for safe maneuverability, ADA-compliant seats, and anti-slip floors.
For more information on the safety benefits of walk-in bathtubs, click here.
