Consider that danger can be around you, even at home. Where is this danger at home? The kitchen, right? Nope.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) thinks that the smallest room in your house – the bathroom – is the most dangerous room in your house! The bathroom? Dangerous? Yep. Nearly 22% of dangerous household injuries occur in the bathroom. And a third of bathroom injuries happen while showering or while using the toilet – those slippery surfaces can cause us trouble. Yikes!
But before we scare you too much, it’s also important to note that the bathroom can also be the first – and best – place for a daily health evaluation. The future of the bathroom may have some of these options available to you. Some of these are available now in high-end hospitals, hotels, luxury homes, and senior living facilities:
- Toilets that can detect conditions such as kidney issues, urinary tract issues, and dehydration.
- Toilet pods that sit inside toilet bowls and can detect glucose levels, vitamin levels, and more, and sends results to an app on your phone.
- Toilets that self-clean!
- The mirror reminds you to use your prescription face cream. Smart mirrors can use augmented-reality to guide meditation or face yoga and can also measure blood pressure.
- The shower uses an infrared light and sauna steam to help sooth inflamed muscles.
- The floor bath mat detects posture, balance, weight, and body composition. It may even help predict falls.
Are you healthy? Such a simple, and yet loaded, question.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Poll students: Who has had an accident in the bathroom? How could bathrooms be safer? More advanced?
- Show several sites that offer advancement for the bathroom.
- Toi Labs toilets: https://toilabs.com/
- Withings toilet pods: https://www.withings.com/us/en/u-scan
- Care OS BMind smart mirror: https://www.care-os.com/
- Nuralogix app for health insights: https://www.nuralogix.ai/
- Kohler smart toilet: https://www.kohler.com/en/products/toilets/shop-toilets/numi-2-0-one-piece-elongated-smart-toilet-dual-flush-30754-pa
- BBalance smart bath mat: https://www.bbalance.io/
- Divide students into teams. Have each team select a smart bathroom product and develop a marketing plan. Make sure to include a description of the target market as well as promotional tactics.
Source: Paynter, S. (9 April 2024). The medspa bathroom: Fixtures that monitor your health. Wall Street Journal.