By Patricia Uyeh

The bathroom, which usually contains a toilet, and sink (basin) and either a bath tub, a shower, or both, is the go-to place for personal hygiene.

It is that room for performing daily rituals of cleansing and personal grooming.

As important as it is, utmost care and precautions must be taken when using the bathroom.

This is because its daily use makes it prone to danger. In fact, most of the home accidents especially falling /tripping off, happen there than anywhere else.

Family members especially newly born/the elderly stand at risk as major victims.

To ensure you and your loved ones are protected, take note of the following bathroom safety tips:

1. Don’t leave a small child alone in the bathroom. Baths seats, swim rings and the likes, are not enough to ensure safety of the small child. Make sure that you have everything needed such as soap, water, shampoo, towel etc before you bath the child.

2. Hot water from the heater can burn. Exposure to temperature as low as 133 degrees F can result to serious burns. Ensure you turn down the temperature of your water heater. Always check your child’s bathwater before helping them into the bath tub.

3. To reduce the risk of falling or tripping off, install grab bars in the bathroom. They could be horizontal or vertical not diagonal. Towel rails are not really strong enough for this purpose.

4. To reduce the risk of slipping, add non-skid straps to the tub bottom. You can also install a turban or shower with built-in skid proofing. Bath mats and rugs should be used because they could be slip-resistant.

5. Never forget to close and lock the toilet lid. Young children are usually curious and adventurous. Save yourself trauma of seeing them drown in few inches of water in the toilet.

6. Store medications carefully. Put the right medication in its rightful container. This should be separated from other everyday items such as, shampoo, soap, conditioners etc.

7. Store cleaning products in places that are out of reach of children. The undersink area is not safe enough.

8. Hire an electrician to replace electric outlets in the bathroom close to a water source to prevent cases of electric shock.

9. Mold growth, which is common to bathrooms due to moisture in the air, can cause respiratory and other health problems. To prevent this, repair leaks promptly, clean bathroom regularly and also, call a professional for assistance.

10. Purchase a stable bath chair for any household member with impaired mobility issues. By doing so, the person can enter shower with the wheelchair, and walker or other support.