MarleyMauve's SoapBox: Venting, Ranting and Miscellaneous Musings

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Modification Tips to Make Your Home More Friendly to Someone with Mobility Issues

Do you need to make changes to your home so that you can better accommodate someone who has trouble with mobility due to their age or a physical disability? Here are some things you’ll want to consider for home modifications.

Stairlifts

A stairlift can help a person ride up the stairs in a stationary chair. A track is installed and a safe chair takes the individual either up the stairs or down the stairs. There are a number of options and some features could include: working in a blackout with battery power, remote access so you can bring it to the floor you’re on (if it was left on a different floor, for instance)

Lift Chair

Getting up and down from soft furnishings isn’t always easy for someone who has trouble with mobility. A lift chair can help you get up more easily by remote control that allows you to raise, slowly, to a standing position from sitting and to raise the chair’s seat to make sitting more comfortable, too.

Bathroom Help

Extra bars can help someone on and / or off the toilet and in and out of the tub. Making sure the bathroom fixtures are at the right height can be helpful as well. A specially made tub or shower chair can be helpful as well as having a walk-in tub or shower. Bathrooms can be tricky as they’re some place where a person with mobility problems often has to be alone and with it being a typically small space, modifications here can be very helpful.

Outdoor Ramps

An outdoor ramp can be very helpful versus stairs for getting in and out of a house. You can also have outdoor stairlifts installed when there are entrances where a ramp is not practical.

Kitchen

Modifications to the kitchen might be needed, depending on the degree of mobility issue. Changing the heights of counters and ensuring enough space to accommodate a wheelchair or walker might be necessary.

Other Considerations:

-Some other considerations include:

· -Ensuring important things are in reach, such as electrical sockets, doorknobs, light switches, and so on.

· -An intercom, if other family members live in the house and the house has multiple storeys

· -Accessibility of phones

· - Accessibility in each room for primary uses

· Would an alarm system help?

Some minor modifications can help make your home more liveable and you might also consider some more major ones to make a big difference.

Brooks Stairlifts is a stairlifts UK company that can help you make sure stairs in your home are easier to manoever due to a stable and safe chair on a track. Visit http://www.brooksstairlifts.co.uk for more info about getting an assessment.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Want to Help Out and/or Get Paid for Participating in a Clinical Trial?

We all hope that if we’re ever diagnosed with a serious illness, that we’ll have the ability to get well again. A lot of people have helped out medical science through clinical trials. Is this something you would be willing to do?

Participating in Clinical Trials

Many of us are willing to donate an organ to someone we know and love. Many are willing to give blood to others --- even a stranger. Are you willing to help out medical science by participating in clinical trials? It doesn’t have to even be entirely altruistic. Some clinical trials offer reimbursement when you’re not getting direct benefit from the trial, such as being an individual who participates to see if a specific medication or treatment actually works.

Want the Chance to Participate in a Medical Breakthrough?

Your help could help others and it could even lead to medical breakthroughs that help yourself and /or a loved one someday.

If you’re interested in learning more about clinical trials, check out http://www.drugrial.co.uk. The Paraxel Clinical Pharmacology research unit regularly takes on volunteers for general and for very specific clinical trials. Trials can involve your help in headaches, lung problems, and others. All medical and drug trials are regulated. You’re not always testing out new drugs (although this can happen but you could also help research with other drug delivery methods and combinations, too.)

Get Info About Participating in Clinical Trials

Paraxel has helped develop many medications and devices that have significantly helped the world of medicine. You may have a lot of questions that concern you about the idea of participating in drug trials or clinical trials but their site at http://www.drugtrial.co.uk is a comprehensive portal of information.

Friday, January 06, 2012

Avoiding Unwanted Visitors Through Your Cat Flap

If you've got a cat or doggie door, you're giving your pet the ability to come and go as he or she wants. This could be convenient for you and make your pet happy. But what would you do if you had an unwanted visitor all of a sudden? A cat flap door opens you up to this sort of thing... Wouldn't you like it if your kitty had the ability to lock the door behind himself or herself?

Actually, there's a product from the UK company SureFlap called the microchip cat flap. This is something that can help --- if your cat is microchipped. You simply program the cat flap to only accept specific microchip numbers. You cat door will read the chip in your cat's head and if it matches what is in memory, the door will open. It'll lock behind your cat, keeping unwanted cats and other visitors out.

Click videos about SureFlap to learn more or see http://www.sureflap.co.uk.