The one group that is most effected by falls down the stairs is the group of people who are over sixty-five. This group represents a large portion of Americans and makes up more than forty million people. Half of those who are over sixty-five also suffer from diseases like arthritis or Alzheimer's, which can make using the stairs difficult and often times dangerous. To help reduce the risk of falling down the stairs, many people use stair lifts.
Reducing the risks associated with using the stairs is incredibly important for people over sixty-five, because a fall on the stairs is the most common cause of hospitalization and accidental death amongst this group. It might be easy to think that the stairs can just be avoided and many decide to take this route, but this is neither convenient nor practical. This is because avoiding the stairs also means avoiding a large portion of your home and also usually requires you to drastically rearrange your home.
People who use stair lifts are at a much lower risk of falling, because the stair lift does all the work of climbing the stairs. All the person must do is sit back and relax as they are carried up or down the stairway. Of course a few lifts are available that use small platforms called perches instead of chairs. Since the platform requires the occupant to remain standing, most people are advised against using this type of lift, unless it is necessary for medical reasons. To help increase the safety of perch lifts, most have several places the rider can hold onto and some even have a waist-high support that the rider can lean against as they move up the stairs.
Most lifts use chairs though and the chair comes in different sizes to accommodate the rider, but also to control the amount of space the device uses. Many of the chairs can be folded up when not in use, but this feature is not available on all models.
In instances where the staircase is straight or 'L' shaped, a lift can be installed easily and will be a cost effective alternative to an elevator, but people that have curved stairways are not so lucky. Usually a curved stair lift costs a hundred times more than a straight lift would be and they can cost even more than this.
The reason for the increased cost is as a result of a non-uniform standard when it comes to a stairways curve. Since the curve of a stairway varies and is often a reflection of the architect who designed the house and the builder who built it, it is necessary for the lifts track to be custom built to fit each individual stairway. Not only is this very expensive, but it is also very time consuming and usually will take more than six weeks. Since the track is custom built, it is not likely to work with other stairways, so the resale value of a curved stair lift is very low.
Due to the high cost of a lift for a curved stairway, a residential elevator becomes much more attractive. In addition providing a much different service that allows people in wheelchairs and household supplies to be easily moved, elevators also go a long way to increasing the value of the home and when it comes time to sell the home, the elevator will actually increase the value of the home and become a good selling point.
Sean Noughtly is a writer who is familiar with and has experience with many types of home medical equipment. For a straight staircase, a stair lift will be a very cost effective and simple alternative to a residential elevator. If your staircase is not straight, you will likely be better served by a residential elevator. Learn more about these and other lifting aids at AmeriGlide.
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