Orthopedic chairs - Bathroom chairs and stools

There are a number of different bathroom chairs, all of which have a purpose when it comes to making the bath, shower, washbasin and bathroom safer and more accessible to people with mobility problems. Some of these chairs are simple and straight forward, whilst other operate with the aid of motors and remote controls.

Bathroom chairs fall into a number of classifications, but the three main ones are –

General purpose bathroom chair

A general purpose bathroom chair is a portable chair that sits on non-slip rubber feet. It has a waterproof body and frame (e.g. neoprene) and it can be moved around or taken out of the bathroom completely.

Chairs of this kind can be used in conjunction with a washbasin, e.g. to brush teeth, for personal grooming and washing, or to sit on whilst running a bath. Multi-purpose bathroom chairs have a simple design and they are lightweight, which means that they can easily be moved out of the bathroom when not in use. These chairs can be placed in a shower and used as a simple shower seat, but they do not fold.

Shower room chair

Shower room chairs come in two forms. The fixed-in-position version and the portable version, the latter of which may be a general purpose bathroom chair as described above. For small capacity showers it is possible to get a shower stool which is smaller, lighter and narrower than a chair and does not have a backrest.

Fixed shower room chairs are mechanically attached to a wall within the shower and this fixing usually means that they have only two front legs that fold out when the chair is in use. When this type of chair is not being used it can normally be folded flat against the shower room wall. This means that it is ideal in a family bathroom where most of the people using the shower do not want or need to use a seat.

A variation on the standard shower seat is the bariatric shower seat. This is a special shower chair designed for larger heavier people. It has a broader seat, a stronger frame and may have armrests or hand supports to ease sitting down and standing up.

Bath chair lifts and hoists

Probably the biggest single bathroom related challenge for a disabled person or elderly person is getting into and out of a bath. However, there are some special chair lifts that are designed specifically for this purpose.

These bath lifts take the form of a chair, normally with side flaps that extend over the sides of the bath tub’s top rim. The bather sits on the bath lift chair whilst on the outside of the bath and then swings their legs around and into the bath tub. At this point the bath lift chair is in its elevated position.

Once sat comfortably on the chair, with their legs inside the bath, the bather can use the bath lift’s remote control to lower themselves down into the bath. The process is reversed in order to exit the bath.

The advantage of a bath lift seat over the other options is that the bath can be filled with water before bathing. When using a disability bath with a side door the bath has to be entered whilst empty.

Bath lift chairs can use motors and hydraulics, or they may use a balloon and an air inflation system. Either way a remote control is used to manage the descent and elevation of the seat. A bath hoist is an alternative to a bath chair lift.

Further information about different bathroom chairs and other related bathroom aids can be found at healthandmobilitystore.com/bathroom-aids. (Please note, this is another website and will see you leave orthopedicchair.net.)