Product Highlight: EZee Life Tilting Rehab Shower Commode Chair

When you’re in a state of health where standing is out of the option, simple things, like taking a shower, cannot be taken for granted. While there are many devices that can help you with this, Healthline’s EZee Life Tilting Rehab Shower Commode Chair, in particular, does the job better than others. Its structural design was developed with the entire human body and its movements in mind - from the top of your head to the very tips of your toes.

Made out of an aluminum, rust-free frame, and at a seating size of 18” wide and 17” deep, this rehab shower chair has these main features:

Height Adjustable
With 4 height settings, this shower commode wheelchair can adjust to anyone utilizing it. But its functionality goes beyond simply accommodating to a user’s height; its multiple height settings also allow the user to roll over a commode, between 19-22 inches, with ease and comfort.

Oftentimes, transferring patients over to the toilet is a tough job and can be a frustrating process, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The EZee Life height adjustable shower commode chair offers the patient independence, convenience and privacy, due to its 24” self-propelling rear wheels with quick-release axles. These rear wheels can easily be switched out with the chair’s original 5” locking casters, providing the freedom and option to propel with an attendant or on one’s own.

Tilting Seat
It’s safe to say that a seated, upright position is not the best posture to get a thorough clean, and there are probably a lot of potential areas to be missed. A tilt-in space shower chair, like the Healthline Tilting Shower Chair, allows you to clean harder to reach areas. It has a tilt range of 0-20 degrees for the posterior and 0-10 degrees for the anterior.

For extra comfort, the seat itself is padded with a removable key-insert for easy showering and toileting. The padded seat is also sealed to prevent moisture from getting in and an opportunity for mold to grow.

Attention to Detail
Now you’ll really see what we mean when we say that this shower chair pays mind to your body, from head-to-toe.

• Headrest – The headrest is adjustable in more ways than one. It can move up, down, forward and back.
• Armrests – These armrests flip back for more convenient transfers and accessibility to the patient.
• Footrests – These footrests adjust to your height and flip-up or swingaway when you want them gone entirely.

See, we weren’t kidding! Some other great features include:

• Corrosion resistant aluminum frame
• Adjustable seat height from 21.25” to 24.25”
• Slide-on & removable pail included
• Seat belt
• 300 lb. weight capacity

Make your comfort and independence a priority with the EZee Life Tilting Rehab Shower Chair by Healthline, and visit PHC-Online to view other great home medical equipment needs.

History of Wheelchairs & Now

Wheelchairs have come a long way, since the first known examples were used to transport people in wheelbarrow-like devices in third century B.C. China. They initially were used to move different types of heavy loads, and adapted to include people. It’s not until about 500 A.D. that we see the use of chairs with wheels designed specifically for use in transporting people. Earlier evidence exists, however, of the use of wheeled furniture. The image on a Greek vase, dated approximately 530 B.C., shows a child lying on a bed with wheels fitted on the legs.

The fact that the wheel and the chair were two of man's earliest inventions, dating back to 4000 B.C., it's amazing that it took so long to put the two together.

Where it Began
Chariots with spoked wheels date back to 1300 B.C. China, but it wasn't until the 16th Century (1595) that the first "dedicated" wheelchair is believed to have been developed. Called an invalid's chair, this device was designed for use by King Philip II of Spain. This was a somewhat elaborate chair that featured a reclining back and moveable armrests and footrests. It had four small wheels, one on each corner leg.

Things Begin to Get Fancy
Who'd have thought that the first self-propelled chair would have evolved into today's hand-crank racing, wheelchair apparatus? It was developed in 1655 by German watch and clock maker Stephen Farfler for his own use as a paraplegic. Farfler's chair utilized three wheels and a hand-crank resembling a bicycle pedal-crank. It looked more like a 1950's pedal-car than a chair but, it’s not all that different than the hand-crank racing wheelchairs used today by athletes in competition.

The Folding Chair Makes the Scene
With the 1932 invention of the first folding wheelchair, by the founders of the now world-renowned manufacturing company Everest & Jennings (E&J), it became possible to easily transport one's wheelchair to different locations. The development of the folding chair was spurred on by the desire of Everest, who had broken his back in a mining accident and became confined to a chair, to have a unit that was collapsible and could easily be transported in an automobile.

From there came the first steel, lightweight, folding wheelchair. Interestingly, because of the widespread use of the automobile at this time, many more serious accidents began occurring - which created the need for more and better wheelchairs. E&J, seeing the practicality and opportunity represented by their design, became the first to mass market wheelchairs and dominated the industry for decades and is still in business today.

High-Tech, High-Touch
Today's wheelchairs can be found in every configuration, from simple examples similar to what E&J first marketed in the 1930s to "Smart" chairs that are computer controlled with mobile robotics. There are wheelchairs that can climb stairs, transport the user in a standing position, traverse the most rugged terrain or be operated by a puff of air from the operator's mouth. Most are simply a choice between manual or motorized and if you ask us, the choices seem limitless.