Any suggestions for a bedrail that my elderly mom can use on her own?
She lives independently and wants to continue to do so but has fallen out of bed a couple times. She would need something that she could engage once she gets into bed at night. Thanks in advance.
You'll need a bedrail that your mom CANNOT take off or incorrectly use to avoid her falling. While I regret I don't have time to read all the responses, the point of a bedrail is to protect the person from falling out of bed. Pls excuse me if I'm missing your point. * Does your mom live alone? * If she lives with you or others, can others hear her if she falls - or gets out of bed? * Do you want / need the 'bells and whistles' that ring when a person gets out of bed - to wake a care provider up to check on her. * I question why she needs to use on her own vs a rail being in place for the purpose it is intended.
I can't think of any portable bed rail device (such as the ones they use for kids) that wouldn't be more of a potential hazard than a benefit. It sounds like your mom would benefit from renting a hospital bed. They range from the low end products where you need to raise the head of the bed up by a crank at the foot of the bed, to a totally automatic Cadillac version with all the bells and whistles. A bed that's somewhere mid-range would allow her to raise the head of the bed and hold onto half a side rail (it doesn't sound like she needs the rail at the foot of the bed yet, but it will be there if she should need it later on) to pull herself up, this would also alleviate pressure and a lot of twisting of her back. Much more comfortable mattresses are available these days than those in-hospital, hard-as-a-rock mattresses previously used in hospitals. Does she have a night light in her bedroom? The other thing that might help is putting a light in the hallway on the way to the bathroom which operates on a motion sensor such that it turns on as soon as she steps into the hallway.
This is just something else to try, if you can find out when in the night and why your mother is rolling out of bed. With my MIL, it happened when she tried to get up in the night to go to the toilet, and got disorientated in the dark. She would end up on the floor, not quite clear what had happened. We got her a touch lamp for right beside the bed, which gave a low night light before she had even tried to sit up, and at that stage it helped a lot.
The Halo Safety Bed Ring was helpful for both my parents getting in and out of bed. It was the only bed rail design allowed by their Assisted Living and later Memory Care. When Mom's dementia worsened in MC, we requested her hospital bed be lowered and a floor mat used.
Imho, something seems amiss with your profile as you state in it that your mother has dementia. Why is she living independently and trying to get out of bed by herself?
I agree that someone trained (an occupational therapist) should evaluate your mother. That being said, Amazon has many different kinds of bedrails. Look up "bedside rails for Seniors." The one I definitely prefer is more vertical than horizontal, with a metal part that goes under the mattress and a strap that anchors it to the leg of the bed on the opposite side so that it won't dislodge. We used this rail on both a stationary bed frame and an adjustable one. Another suggestion: put a small area rug next to the bed. It should have rubber on the bottom to grip the floor and significant texture on the top. This will help your mother's feet stay in place when she tries to sit up. A bedside commode with rails is essential too. Place it extremely close to the bed so she can hold the bedside rail with one hand and the commode rail with the other while turning to sit. Don't forget the commode liners—trust me when I say that they will change your life, and your mother's too! After use, all you have to do is tie them up and throw them away in the trash. Last, please consider investing in one of those alert necklaces that she can use to summon help if she does fall. Once someone falls, it is very likely that they will continue to fall. It would be terrible for her to lay there without being able to let anyone know, especially if she has injured herself.
My Mom has had a medical alert system (with wrist band and pendant) for several years. While it was a good idea in the beginning, in her current stage of dementia, Mom can't remember what the buttons are for and would not know to push them if she needed to. I am going to cancel her subscription to this expensive service as I can't see how it benefits her at this point.
Much more likely to cause a fall. She will have to slide down the bed, re-orient herself and swing her feet over. She will get bruises from the railing. If she is prone to falling she has balance and motor issues, and can't be expected to learn a more complicated way of getting out of the bed.
Get an in-home evaluation by an occupational therapist who will assess her for fall and safety risks everywhere in her home. Also, Mom will need to be taught how to get in and out of bed safely. Bedrails that she controls won't prevent her falling. You need to address the cause. She may need a new bed that allows her to sit on the edge with her feet securely on the floor. If she has neuropathy, and can't feel when her feet are on the floor, Mom may need to reconsider and move into a senior "independent" apartment, with someone on call in the building or even a scheduled time for her to be safely escorted up and out of bed. This also means addressing her ability to get up at night to relieve herself. She may need to learn not to do this, or to use a bedside commode with someone to help clean up in the morning.
I ordered this for my mom and she loved it - it slides under the mattress LumaRail-FS Triple Safe Bed Assist Rail Support Bar Handle with LED Sensor Nightlight, GlowSafe Indicators and Anchor Strap. Adjustable Height TOP Rail Accommodates Thick MATTRESSES and Toppers. It can be situated to be in an area of the bed to keep her from falling out.
Also, she had a Verlo mattress and they were able to make a customized box spring to be lower to the floor (shorter height). Just some suggestions.
Hi. This is not for a bedrail but may be something you can use. One morning after checking on mom I was concerned when i found her laying on her side with one leg hanging off the end of the bed. She usually doesn't move a lot but one wrong move and she would have ended up in the floor. She has a queen size bed but only uses the one side. I dont know why. I started using her extra foo foo bed pillows to wedge her in so she cant roll off. She can move but the pillows are like a wall to keep her in. Her bed pad is large and the pillows go under that a little just like a little wall. She can still turn in move just would have to move the pilllows to get to the edge of the bed. Hope I described it okay and maybe that could work? Good luck.
Your mother might just use one side of the bed because she is used to that side or because physically it's enough to get into the bed at all and scooching over to the middle is awkward or painful. I speak as someone who uses one side of my own bed b/c arthritis makes it hard to scooch over
Lots of suggestions here. But I am wondering about her “falling out of bed”. I do t know how common calling out of bed is. My FIL would say he was falling out of bed, but he wasn’t. He had started to do all sorts of strangeness at night and made up explanations. He was have to go to the bathroom and try to get up. He was fall to the floor because legs were weak. In your mother’s case, she is still ambulatory but I would still try to explore this to verify. The facility FIL was in kept bed in lowest position and put thick rubber mats at bedside. You might look into those; you might be able to rent from DME company.
Nursing homes do not use bedrails any more because they make falls worse. I suggest you make sure she has a really low bed and place thick mats on sides of bed. If she falls on the mats, she is less likely to hurt herself. Also re-think bedside tables. When people fall out of bed, they are likely to hurt themselves on the bedside table.
I bought one for my mom that was shorter and fit between the mattress, to give her something to hang onto when she got out of bed. She too was falling getting up. My mom is in AL. She threw it away!😟 because the bed was so high, I then bought a new box spring that was only 4 inches I believe. I got it from mattress firm
My dad had one that was probably two feet long and had pockets on the inside of it to hold reading material and his tv remote, eyeglasses etc. it helped him get in and out of bed too. When he rolled out of bed on the other side we got one for that side too. It was different without pockets. I just used amazon and read reviews etc.
My dad had one that was probably two feet long and had pockets on the inside of it to hold reading material and his tv remote, eyeglasses etc. it helped him get in and out of bed too. When he rolled out of bed on the other side we got one for that side too. It was different without pockets. I just used amazon and read reviews etc.
Thanks everyone. I’ve looked at several online but thought I would get everyone’s personal perspective as to what worked best for them since there are several styles to choose from.
We bought two of these for each side of my mom’s bed and they work great and are easy to install. They attach to bed frame too and are quite secure. My husband put them together. We do periodic checks on them to make sure where you screw them together stays tight. My mom has mobility issues due to lymphedema in her right leg and these bed rails help her to get in and out of bed on her own. Highly recommend.
Sold on Amazon here’s the listing- FromVisit the Essential Medical Supply Essential Medical Supply Height Adjustable Hand Bed Rail with Floor Supports
I found a small rail for Luz. It was more for her to grab onto while trying getting up. It worked great. I found it at Wahl mart. She would have problems reaching the floor and would slip off of the mattress onto the floor. She was just too short to get out of bed with the thick mattresses and the bed being too high, she would just slip out and onto the floor. I built her a small platform that was just over two inches high to give her a place to put her feet when getting up. That worked wonders for her. Give it a shot. It can't hurt.
My Mom had one that also fit between mattresses and secured with a strap. But the width of the bar is about 18 in. It was actually bought to help my Mom pull herself up in bed. It also gave her something to hold onto when getting up. The bonus was that it kept her from rolling out of bed.
We bought one for my dad from Amazon that was easy to use and a big help. It was secured between between the mattress and boxspring and also had an optional strap for extra securing. It’s about 3 feet long I’m guessing, not so long to prevent getting around it to get up and has a strong metal bar at the top for grabbing
Do you know how she is falling out of bed? A lot of times falls happen when getting up and lying down rather than actually rolling out of the bed so in that case a bed assist rail would be the best option, as well as making sure the bed is the optimal height for her to stand easily.
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* Does your mom live alone?
* If she lives with you or others, can others hear her if she falls - or gets out of bed?
* Do you want / need the 'bells and whistles' that ring when a person gets out of bed - to wake a care provider up to check on her.
* I question why she needs to use on her own vs a rail being in place for the purpose it is intended.
Call around your nearest Medical supply store, and inquire.
First get a prescription from her doctor and call her insurance company to see who is in network.
Please get her one soon.
Best Wishes!
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Best wishes!
I wouldn't be laughing cuz this could be you one day!
Another suggestion: put a small area rug next to the bed. It should have rubber on the bottom to grip the floor and significant texture on the top. This will help your mother's feet stay in place when she tries to sit up.
A bedside commode with rails is essential too. Place it extremely close to the bed so she can hold the bedside rail with one hand and the commode rail with the other while turning to sit. Don't forget the commode liners—trust me when I say that they will change your life, and your mother's too! After use, all you have to do is tie them up and throw them away in the trash.
Last, please consider investing in one of those alert necklaces that she can use to summon help if she does fall. Once someone falls, it is very likely that they will continue to fall. It would be terrible for her to lay there without being able to let anyone know, especially if she has injured herself.
she could swing her legs to get out of bed as usual but the rail would be at the upper half of the bed to keep her from rolling out when asleep.
Also, she had a Verlo mattress and they were able to make a customized box spring to be lower to the floor (shorter height). Just some suggestions.
Good luck.
am wondering about her “falling out of bed”. I do t know how common calling out of bed is. My FIL would say he was falling out of bed, but he wasn’t. He had started to do all sorts of strangeness at night and made up explanations. He was have to go to the bathroom and try to get up. He was fall to the floor because legs were weak. In your mother’s case, she is still ambulatory but I would still try to explore this to verify. The facility FIL was in kept bed in lowest position and put thick rubber mats at bedside. You might look into those; you might be able to rent from DME company.
because the bed was so high, I then bought a new box spring that was only 4 inches I believe. I got it from mattress firm
Sold on Amazon here’s the listing- FromVisit the Essential Medical Supply Essential Medical Supply Height Adjustable Hand Bed Rail with Floor Supports
She would have problems reaching the floor and would slip off of the mattress onto the floor.
She was just too short to get out of bed with the thick mattresses and the bed being too high, she would just slip out and onto the floor.
I built her a small platform that was just over two inches high to give her a place to put her feet when getting up. That worked wonders for her.
Give it a shot. It can't hurt.