Tips for Reducing Burn Risk in Your Loved One’s Kitchen
Home Care in Bronxville NY
Burns can represent a serious injury that can put your elderly loved one at risk of even further complications and consequences. In your role as their family caregiver it is extremely important that 
you encourage your parent to make good choices and avoid decisions and actions that can put them at higher risk of suffering a serious burn. One of the areas of the home where this is particularly important is the kitchen. A large percentage of the burns that occur in the home occur in the kitchen or occur due to fires that originate in the kitchen. With a few simple changes, however, you can reduce the chances that one of these serious incidents will occur.
Use these tips to reduce the risk that your parent will experience a burn in their kitchen:
- Discourage them from wearing loose, long, or billowing clothing in the kitchen as these can catch fire or get caught on the handles of pots or pans and pull hot food down on top of your parent.
- Use oven mitts or pot holders to handle hot pots or pans rather than towels, which can slip and may not provide enough protection.
- Limit cooking with grease and if your parent is using this cooking method they should make sure that there is a pot lid and baking soda or salt nearby to manage a grease fire if one occurs. You should never attempt to put out a grease fire using water.
- Replace an outdated coffee pot with a single-serving brewer to prevent your parent from accidentally spilling a pot of coffee on themselves.
- Never leave cooking food that is cooking or hot cooking surfaces or appliances unattended.
- Consider disconnecting the oven or stove if your elderly parent is suffering from cognitive decline such as is related to Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.
- Encourage your parent to use the back burners of the stove as often as possible and to not reach over burns that are on to reach other food.
Starting elder care for your aging parent can be one of the most nurturing, effective, and meaningful decisions that you can make for them throughout your care journey. Their highly personalized approach to care ensures that your aging parent gets the support, encouragement, and assistance that is right for them. This means taking into consideration not just your aging loved one’s individual challenges, limitations, and needs, but also their personality, goals, and lifestyle as well as the care efforts that you put forth for them. This allows your parent to continue enjoying as much independence and autonomy as possible, while also staying safe, healthy, and comfortable. When it comes to helping your aging loved one reduce the risk that they will suffer a burn in their kitchen, their elderly home care services provider can evaluate the environment of their kitchen to identify potential challenges so that you can devise meaningful modifications to reduce this risk. They can also provide supervision and support during cooking tasks to allow your loved one to continue enjoying the benefits of preparing meals and snacks while preventing the potentially devastating consequences of burns.
If you or an aging loved one are looking for home care in Bronxville, NY, call the friendly staff at The Perfect Home Care at (855) 855-5728. Call today!
Source: http://www.ameriburn.org/Preven/CookingSafetyforOlderAdults_2-27-15.pdf
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