Handicapped Stair Lift

Considering a handicapped stair lift must mean that you or someone in your family has problems with mobility.

This can be permanent or temporary, but the use of one of these pieces of equipment can really reduce your stress. The person who has the disability will find they can have control over their own movements again.

Going up and down stairs seems such an ordinary occupation and normally we would never consider it, that is until we cannot do it any more.

If you are living in multi story accommodation and there is no elevator then you have a real problem and the only thing that seems sensible would be to move to a single story dwelling. However, if you live in your own two story home you can overcome this problem relatively easy.

Avoiding accidents on the stairs for the infirm and/or elderly has to be the first priority. More accidents in the home happen on the stairs.

Buying a handicapped stair lift, or any type of stair lift for that matter, is not cheap so you need to be sure you get it right when you order it. Always make sure to discuss the needs of the prospective user with the supplier so that you can be guided by him as to which would be the best model to purchase.

Everything depends upon the nature of the disability. Perhaps the person who needs it is just elderly and cannot climb the stairs very well and gets out of breath. Perhaps someone has bad arthritis and painful joints or some other chronic disablement.

You have to consider whether the person concerned has the strength in their hands to keep a constant pressure on the button to keep the lift moving. Does the person have enough upper body strength to be able to sit upright or do they need a larger seat area with a seat belt for that extra security.

Is the person normally confined to a wheelchair? If this is the case you would need a lift model which had a swivel seat so that when reaching the bottom and their waiting wheelchair they could alight from the lift in complete safety.

If they needed to be in a wheelchair even to mount the stairs then you would need an actual wheelchair lift. This would be different because it wouldn’t have a seat. It would have a platform on which the wheelchair would be secured to take it up or down.

This type of handicapped stair lift necessitates having tracks at either side of the staircase so takes up more room when in use, but that shouldn’t be a problem because it wouldn’t be necessary for anyone else to be walking beside the wheelchair, it would be completely safe and secure.

If your budget is a bit strained but you really do need a stair lift, talk to your supplier and I am sure they will offer a payment plan to help the purchase along. This should ease your financial burden somewhat and make it possible to go ahead with the installation of the stair lift that is so badly needed.