With winter comes snow, ice and cold temperatures, all of which can make it more difficult to move around safely. Whether you’re living with low vision or limited mobility -- or are helping care for someone with vision or mobility issues -- here are six ways to keep safe this winter season, and to help prevent trips, slips and falls inside or outside your home.

1) Clear Away the Clutter

One of the best ways to prevent accidents at home is simply keeping your surroundings neat. If you use a walker or a wheelchair, it's doubly important that paths are free to move through.

Clear away any clutter that could get in your way, but also do routine maintenance on your furniture, surfaces and other household items. A loose floorboard can mean disaster, and so can that toaster that is way too close to the edge of the counter.

Of course, check your porches and walkways, too. Accidents happen when people get too comfortable around their environments, missing the unsafe spots. If you do find yourself moving through familiar spaces without paying attention, it might be time for a spring cleaning during the winter!

2) Keep Floors in Safe Shape

The best ways to keep floors free of debris (and therefore safe) are keeping them swept and vacuumed often, wiping up spills immediately, and staying on top of any repairs that need doing -- both inside and around the perimeter of your home.

If it's raining or snowing out, you can use a special bathroom rug outside your home’s entranceway so that those entering your home don’t track in debris or water on their shoes. A good sturdy mat will also help prevent slips when exiting your vehicle; keep one with you and use it when you're entering or leaving your car.

3) Ice Melts Can Make All the Difference

Ice melts can do a lot more than just melt ice. These special de-icers come in different forms including pellets, granules or flakes that are easy to sprinkle on walkways and steps outside your home—or anywhere you’d normally find ice in wintertime. And with slippery floors being a common cause of winter falls inside homes as well as outside them (including on porches), using ice melts is a smart solution for preventing slips and falls when getting around during cold weather.

4) Clean Sidewalks on a Routine Basis

Clear any snow or ice on sidewalks regularly—especially if you’re in an area where it snows often. It’s easy to forget about clearing pathways but doing so can avoid a big slip-and-fall accident that leaves you with a broken arm or worse. Plus, it will also help prevent your neighbors from having an accident as well!

5) Keep Traction

You can prevent slips and falls in winter weather by taking steps to keep your footing. The key is to good traction is to put a layer of rubber between you and slippery surfaces—and no, I’m we're not talking about galoshes. Rather than trying to increase traction with traditional shoes or boots, it is often more effective (and easier) to use a pair of grippy socks or wraps that can be placed over regular footwear.

Anti-Slip Ice Treads, suitable for any type of shoe, will help you maintain your style as well as your safety!  

Also, a high-quality ramp will give you the traction you need to get into and out of your home's entryways.

6) Have a Buddy System in Place

Before you leave home—even if it’s just for a trip down to your mailbox—make sure you have someone check in on you. Let them know exactly where you are going, what route you plan on taking and how long you expect it will take. It's always better to be safe than sorry!

At MaxiAids, we often get questions from customers who are purchasing a sight assistive product for a friend or loved one. One of the most popular questions we are asked is, "What is the difference between blindness and low vision?" The answer to that question is important to our customers who want to make sure they choose the right product.

So, let's delve into the difference between visual impairment and blindness.

What is the difference between visual impairment and blindness?

In the United States, there are four terms used to describe different levels of vision impairment and blindness:

• Partially sighted
• Low vision
• Legally blind
• Totally blind

Partially sighted means a person has partial vision, either in one or both eyes.

Low vision refers to a severe visual impairment in which visual acuity is 20/70 or poorer in the better-seeing eye and cannot improve with glasses or contacts.

Legally blind means a person has a corrected vision of 20/200 in their best-seeing eye. If visual aids such as glasses can correct a person’s vision to 20/20, they are not considered legally blind.

Totally blind refers to a complete loss of sight. Blindness is a condition in which a person can’t see anything because of permanent impairment to their eyesight, whether it be caused by disease, injury, or birth

Being blind or visually impaired isn’t about what people can or cannot do.
It’s about learning the best way to accomplish whatever goals they set out to achieve!

Being visually impaired or blind doesn’t mean one can’t live a normal life. On the contrary! Thanks to the very many amazing, handy tools and aids designed for independent everyday living, visually impaired and blind folks go to work, go to the movies, explore new parts of town, work out at gyms -- everything and anything a sighted person does!

Liquid Level Detector	Braille 2022 Calendar With 2022 Pocket Calendar	Talking Tape Measure English	Rigid Cane With Crook Handle - 38 inches

It's a fact that for most people, home feels like the very safest of places: our pathways and rooms are predictable and familiar.

However, safety from accidents within our home-sweet-homes is not always the case. In fact, more than 50% of falls happen within the home.

Making Homes Safer for Those with Mobility Issues & Special Needs

At-home slips, trips and falls often lead to injuries and can worsen chronic health issues. That's why it is crucial to assess your home environment and spot any safety problems -- before they become slip, trip or fall problems for those with blindness, low vision, deafness, hearing impairment, mobility issues, and other special needs.

Let's go through a quick and easy -- yet vital -- checklist for the various rooms in your home. We're here to help make your home even safer!

Kitchen Safety

Since kitchens are typically the most used area of a home, it's important that the kitchen layout and its accessories take safety, mobility, accessibility, and comfort into account.

• Install non-skid, non-slip kitchen floor surfaces
   
• Use unbreakable, durable, dishwasher safe plates -- like the Freedom Scoop Plate with Suction Pad
  
• For folks with low vision, arthritis, or mobility issues where one hand is limited, use a safe and secure cutting board you can trust. Try the E Z Handy Helper Low Vision Cutting Board
  
  Bathroom Safety
   

• The bathroom can be one of the most dangerous places in your home. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), more than 1 in 3 seniors above the age of 65 falls each year -- and 80% of these falls occur in the bathroom.

  Safety in your home bathroom is essential, especially for senior citizens and those with special needs such as mobility issues!

• For bathtub safety and security, install a Chrome Grab Bar. Be sure to get one that is constructed of heavy gauge steel for added support when sitting, standing, and transferring

• A Toilet Safety Rail helps make it easier -- and safer -- to get on and off the toilet. This Medical Freestanding Toilet Safety Rail provides comfort, convenience, and added security
  
  
• Provide yourself or a loved one with comfort and safety with a non-slip surface perfectly suited for any shower stall. This Non-Slip Hydro Rug Shower Stall Bath Mat leaves soggy, slippery mats behind and helps avoid dangerous slips in the shower
  

Bedroom Safety

You should always feel safe and secure in your own bedroom. Discover a wealth of bedroom safety products, and put them to good use. You're worth it!