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In general

• Don't keep internal house doors locked.
• Fit room doors so that they open outwards. If you have a seizure inside the room and fall against the door, it can be easily opened from outside.
• Put down thick carpeting (including on the bathroom floor) to cushion against falls.
• Choose padded furniture with rounded corners.
• Don't smoke or light fires or candles when you're alone. Use fireplace screens while a fire is burning.
• Avoid heaters that can tip over or that have an exposed heating element.
• Use an iron with an automatic shut-off switch.
• Choose low chairs, or with arms to prevent falls; and a low, wide bed.
• Have emergency numbers written up next to the phone.
• Install safety glass in windows and doors.

• Consider using a microwave oven. It's safer than a conventional stove that uses electrical elements or gas.
• If you use a conventional stove, use the back plates or burners, and turn saucepan handles back and inwards.
• Avoid carrying hot food containers. Try to arrange it so that your cooking and dining areas are near each other. Use a tea trolley instead of carrying hot food or drinks from one room to another.
  · Use plastic rather than glass and ceramic food containers to prevent cuts, and cups with lids to prevent burns.
• Wear long oven gloves when removing items from a hot oven.
• Wear rubber gloves when handling knives or washing breakable dishes and glassware.

• Have your daily bath or shower at and for a set time, to coincide with times other household members are at home. Tell someone you are about to bath or shower.
• Showers are generally safer than baths.
• Don't use a shower with a door that seals: rather use a shower curtain or a door that has a gap at its base.
• Don't run the taps while you're in the bath, and keep the water level low.
• Check that the outflow pipes from the bath and shower drain properly.
• Consider using a shower or bath seat.
• Avoid using electrical appliances near water.

In the garden and doing DIY

• Choose grass surfaces over paved.
• Use power tools and motor-driven equipment that have a "dead man's" handle - the power is cut off if your hand releases its grip.
• Avoid climbing, and then only as high as you can safely fall. If you must climb, use a safety harness and wear protective head-gear.
• Keep a cover on the swimming pool when this is not in use; clean the pool when someone else is present.

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