What are the requirements for a wheelchair suitable for the elderly?
What are the requirements for a wheelchair suitable for the elderly?
With the growth of people's age, people entering the old age more or less have some basic diseases. The lack of physical strength and inconvenience of legs and feet are more common. It is necessary to equip a walking aid.
According to different conditions of each person, crutches, walking aids and wheelchairs are provided to assist walking. But do you know how to choose a suitable wheelchair for the elderly?
Why do you want to know how to choose a wheelchair?
Wheelchairs are common assistive devices on the market. There are more or less misunderstandings about wheelchairs.
✘The bigger the wheelchair, the better
The oversized wheelchair will make the user lack of support, leading to incorrect posture
✘ The more expensive the wheelchair, the better
The price does not determine the quality and function of the wheelchair. The wheelchair with high cost performance should be selected according to the use demand
✘Wheelchair functions are not different, just sit
The essential function of the wheelchair is to assist walking, and other functions are for the sake of icing on the cake. However, in addition to the function, the material and size of the wheelchair should be selected appropriately to avoid secondary injury to the user due to poor quality
As the saying goes, "Only the feet know whether the shoes fit or not.". If the wheelchair is uncomfortable, the user has a great say.
Improper wheelchairs may cause skin damage, pressure sores, lower limb edema, spinal deformity, fall risk, muscle pain contracture and other injuries to patients.
When the nurse assists the elderly in wheelchair transfer, if the wheelchair is not convenient enough, it is easy to bump or scratch in the transfer process.
A proper wheelchair can avoid excessive physical consumption by users or nurses, improve travel efficiency and reduce the probability of injury to users.
How to choose a suitable wheelchair?
* Who uses wheelchairs more frequently
Wheelchairs have two rear wheels: big wheel and small wheel.
If the elderly have enough strength and physical strength to push the wheelchair on their own and use the wheelchair independently for a long time, they can choose a larger wheel. The larger wheel is more convenient for the elderly to reach out and push the hand push ring, reducing the energy consumption and reducing the occurrence of shoulder damage.
If family members or caregivers assist the elderly to use wheelchairs more frequently, they can consider choosing relatively small wheels, which occupy less space and have more flexibility in the space to reduce wheel seizure.
*The situation of the elderly themselves
Each elder has different physical conditions. According to different physical conditions, different types of wheelchairs are equipped. Wheelchairs can be generally divided into manual wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs. Manual wheelchairs have multiple details to consider.
The basic wheelchair is generally not equipped with multiple functions, without cushion and back cushion. The steel frame is simple and solid, with a certain weight, which is not easy to store, and can meet the needs of short time riding and transfer.
It is commonly used in hospitals, and is suitable for the elderly with strong self-care ability.
The portable wheelchair is more suitable for long-term use in families, and is suitable for a wide range of people. It is equipped with cushion, back cushion, multi support structure, more solid material, better performance, small folding area, small and light, and easy to carry.
The portable wheelchair is generally equipped with multiple details: the pedal can be retracted/disassembled, multiple braking systems, the hand baffle can be raised, the rear wheel can be quickly disassembled, and other humanized functional designs.
The electric wheelchair is also suitable for long-term use in families, but it requires users to have certain self-care ability. Compared with the manual wheelchair, the electric wheelchair is very intelligent. It does not need to be pushed manually. It can adjust the speed independently. It is safe, convenient, efficient and stable to travel.
Use scenario of wheelchair
When selecting a wheelchair, you also need to consider the use scenario of the wheelchair, whether it is only used indoors or both indoors and outdoors.
Indoor use
If the wheelchair is used indoors for a long time, it mainly considers the width of the door, the width of the aisle, the width between the beds, the size of the bathroom space, etc.
When the wheelchair enters and exits the toilet, it is necessary to ensure that there is enough space for the wheelchair to rotate, so as to avoid the risk of falling when the elderly get up.
Indoor and outdoor
If the wheelchair is for indoor and outdoor use, it is necessary to select a portable collapsible wheelchair suitable for carrying out, with the chair back, foot pedal, easy folding, small floor space and easy carrying.