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[sfnative]

You've been given some really good adivce here. Lots of good and practical choices.

When we retired and moved to another state last year and rented a house, for the first time in years, I had an old fashioned bath tub that I needed to get into and out of safely pre and post knee replacement surgery. Additionally, I have a bone in my foot which has dropped and is extremely painful unless I wear a certain shoe and have a mat in the tub which we purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

We purchased the long, retangular version. (There is also a shower version.) This matt has numerous suction cups to keep it in place. Additionally, it has slit openings to allow water and such to flow beneath it, and it is slightly padded, which my left foot really needed. We got it in white. I don't think it came in any other color. Anyway, this would seem a cost-effective solution to her problem.

Note on the retangular bath tub stool pictured above. We purchased one of these prior to my knee surgery. I used it, perhaps, 2 times, then asked my husband to remove it, as it was not stable enough in OUR bath tub. We do use it for other purposes and our 1 year old granddaughter loves crawling under it, after we drape a throw over it. We did purchase a bath tub stool that has 3 seat sections with legs: 2 sections stand in the tub and the third, which is attached to the other two, is over the tub edge and floor. When I first had my knee surgery, I LOVED this, as I could sit on it, scoot over to the left toward the edge of the tub, scoot a little more and gently swing my left leg, then right leg out of the tub. At this point, I'm still sitting on the third seat section and would grab my cane to help me get up, as well as place one hand on top of the commode cover.

I know I said a lot, but it might mean something to someone.

[bluejeansluvr]

Thank you so much! So many helpful ideas here, some of these I have never even seen before. And some of these are such good ideas I want them for myself!

DH and I were talking earlier today and he said you know it is just not elderly that can fall in the shower or bathtub, anyone can and both of us have almost fallen in our own shower. These are such good ideas for showers or tubs, thank you for all the wonderful ideas and comments and pictures. This is the reason I stick around here on the boards, you all are so wonderful when someone needs suggestions.

[crazy4bears]

My husband wanted something instead of mats in the tub he uses so I purchased a spray online to make the surface rough. You clean the bathtub surface good and make sure it's dry. Tape off the area that you want to cover. Open windows for ventilation. Spray one coat, wait 15-30 min. and spray another coat. After a bit you pull off all the tape and wait 24 hours and the tub is good to go. So far it's worked for him.

[NanaS]

V32271......non slip shower mats sold by QVC.........another good idea would be the shower shoes pictured above except you would need to remove them to wash your feet properly.

Check out the mats !

[lolakimono]

Amph,

I got these from Amazon for my shower (it takes several packs) before I had surgery. They are still stuck on and no problems whatsoever. You just use a hairdryer to set them in place. They have lots of different animals/designs.

[goodstuff]

On 10/4/2014 lolakimono said:

What about getting a shower chair, like this one, from Walgreen's?

Then have a towel nearby so she can dry off her feet/floor before exiting the shower?

Shower seats are great -- but they don't do away with the risk of falling. I had one when I was recovering from knee surgery and like it so much it has become a permanent part of my shower ensemble. Lovely for shaving your legs, washing your feet, etc.,-- or just sitting and relaxing under the warm spray. Mine has raised metal handles on the side that you can hold for safety when you need to bend to pick up the soap or whatever. However, you still have to step in and out of the shower, turn to sit, maneuver to stand -- all with your feet on the floor. I guess you could throw a dry towel down on the wet floor and stand on that, but you'd risk getting your feet caught in the towel..........

Regardless of age or health, I think grab bars and nonslip floors or mats in the shower are a great safety idea. A lot of people are injured in shower/tub falls.

[jlkz]

I use something similar to the round shower/ tub stool: sit on stool and swing legs over the low, long tub. Being seated for me makes me feel safer. I can also use the stool outside the tub for a pedicure.

[jlkz]

A cheap non- slip helper: place an old towel on the bottom of the tub.