Nowadays, people with disabilities have more and more facilities allowing for relatively independent and comfortable living. This applies to many areas, including basic ones like maintaining personal hygiene. Public places increasingly often feature bathrooms adapted for people in wheelchairs. This allows them to use the toilet or bathroom without needing to ask for help. If you have disabled family members, it's worthwhile to consider the needs of all household members when planning a bathroom or toilet. Equipment adapted to the needs of people with various disabilities can also be freely used by fully able-bodied individuals, which is not always the case in reverse. It's also important to remember that with age, physical efficiency decreases, so when designing a bathroom for the future, it's wise to consider that sooner or later, older people will also be using it.
A Bathroom without Barriers
Taking care of body and hair cleanliness is one of the needs of every person, and outside of childhood, most of us want to do it independently. Unfortunately, people with disabilities often, despite their best intentions, have to rely on assistance during bathing, hair washing, or using the toilet. Many people with disabilities are capable enough to manage independently, provided we create the right conditions for them. A suitably planned bathroom and well-chosen equipment are the foundation for ensuring independence in the bathroom. Firstly, it's important to ensure there's enough space in the bathroom or toilet to manoeuvre a wheelchair comfortably. The optimal manoeuvring space for a wheelchair is 150 x 150 cm. Access to the sink, toilet, or bidet should be convenient. Therefore, it's best not to place too many pieces of furniture or additional laundry baskets, etc. It's also advisable to avoid using rugs by the toilet or bath, as this decorative detail might block wheelchair wheels or pose a tripping and falling hazard. To facilitate access to the bathroom or toilet, it's best to eliminate thresholds in these rooms and install doors at least 90 cm wide with handles at a convenient height.
Bath or Shower?
We must choose between comfort and functionality. Undoubtedly, a bath allows for prolonged relaxation, but unfortunately, for disabled people without assistance, it's a difficult and dangerous solution. Independent disabled persons definitely prefer showers. The most convenient solution here will be a walk-in shower cabin at least 100 x 100 cm in size. When choosing shower doors, it's worth opting for ones that can be wide-opened or use a shower curtain instead of doors. Choosing not to have a shower tray or opting for the lowest possible super-slim shower tray allows comfortable wheelchair access. To ensure safety in the shower area, it's necessary to install convenient handrails to allow movement from the wheelchair to the shower seat or provide stability while standing under the shower. Older and disabled people will feel safer sitting while showering. For them, a wall-mounted seat, foldable when not in use, can be installed, or a special shower chair can be added. Furniture designed for the shower is made of durable materials with lattice surfaces. A chair can be selected with or without armrests.
In cases where the bathroom has a bath and there's no possibility of creating a shower area, a good solution is bathtub-mounted seats. Sitting on them allows comfortable use of the shower. The only requirement will be to install the seat near the shower battery. When setting up the bathing area, it's important to minimize the risk of slipping. Thus, ribbed surfaces and rubber mats on the bath or shower floor work well.
Comfort in the Toilet
Hanging devices rather than standard standing bidets and toilets are an excellent idea to facilitate toilet use for people with disabilities. By placing them at a suitable height, they will be able to independently approach the right place and ensure hygiene in intimate areas. If it's not possible to install the bowl at the appropriate height, it's worthwhile to invest in convenient raised toilet seat pads for classic bowls. The safety of use is ensured by adjacent fixed or hinged handrails. It's also worth considering installing a special toilet bowl designed for disabled people. Special toilet bowls with an open front part are increasingly appearing in the range of sanitary products. When installing the toilet bowl and bidet, they should be moved at least 70 cm away from the wall, ensuring comfortable positioning of the wheelchair. Thus, a disabled person will be able to comfortably use the toilet without the embarrassing need to ask for help. Identical requirements arise when installing a bidet. The wall-mounted bidet allows convenient washing of intimate areas or feet. It's certainly more convenient than using a shower hose.
Comfortable Washbasins and Bathroom Taps
Hand washing is one of the basic hygiene activities performed multiple times a day. Therefore, when arranging a bathroom for disabled or older people, it's important to consider their convenience and safety. The first element is the selection of an appropriate washbasin. Some companies producing bathroom ceramics have in their range basins with a specially profiled front, allowing convenient wheelchair access and washing hands without needing to stand up. Additionally, the flat surface allows comfortable elbow support, providing additional stabilization. The optimal height for mounting the basin is 80 cm. Safety for disabled people moving independently is provided by grips and barriers installed near basins. Hanging basins, without pedestals, are more effective, providing adequate leg space. The second element facilitating bathroom use is appropriately chosen bathroom taps. For people with decreased manual ability due to age or illness, taps with conveniently extended handles and long spouts have been created. For older and disabled people, touchless taps that activate automatically using a photocell also work well. A good solution might be medical taps, allowing stream and water temperature control even with the elbow.
In the bathroom, we can't forget the small details that make self-care easier, such as bathroom mirrors. Mirrors hung at the appropriate height allow convenient hair styling or makeup application.
Nowadays, arranging a bathroom for a disabled person is nothing difficult. Most of the products necessary for its equipment can be purchased in bathroom equipment stores, both physically and online.