Bed Rails & Bed Assist Rails

1. Start with your bed

These are bedside assist rails for people: a handle or rail that fits alongside the mattress. They are not the side rails that join a headboard to a footboard.

• Traditional bed (mattress on a box spring, platform or slats): all six rails we sell are made for it and are held by a safety strap around the bed frame.
• Adjustable base: Stander lists only the three Click models, the Wonder Click Bed Handle, the Click-N-Go Bed Handle and the Wonder Click Extendable Bed Rail. Their manuals say: "Use ONLY on adjustable beds with wood platforms, using included SCREWS per ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS."
• Not for adjustable beds: the 30" Safety Bed Rail and Wonder Pivot Bed Rail Tall manuals say "NEVER use on an adjustable bed." The Prime Safety Bed Rail manual says "Not intended for use on adjustable beds."
• Metal frames: Stander lists the Click models as not compatible with metal-frame beds. If your adjustable base has a metal platform, contact us before you order.
• Hospital or homecare bed: FDA notes that "not all bed rails, mattresses, and bed frames are interchangeable and not all bed rails fit all size beds." Ask the bed's maker which rails fit. The Flexabed Hi-Low SL, for example, offers Flexabed half-rails as options on its own page.

2. Measure the mattress

Measure how thick your mattress is and check it against the "Mattress thickness" column above. Stander's manuals say not to use a rail on a mattress outside its range, and: "NEVER use on toddler, bunk, water, or inflatable beds or on beds with mattress toppers or soft compressible pads."

Soft mattress check: the manuals describe pressing about 12 lb onto the edge of the mattress where the rail will go. If it compresses more than about 2 in., Stander says to install its Bed Rail Safety Guard (item #2400/#2450, sold separately) before using the rail. FDA also advises: "Use caution when using bed rails with a soft mattress as this may increase risk of entrapment between the mattress and bed rail."

3. Choose a handle or a longer rail

• Bed handle (Wonder Click, Click-N-Go): a compact handhold beside the mattress for sitting up and getting in or out of bed.
• Longer rail with a handle section (Wonder Click Extendable, Prime, 30" Safety Bed Rail, Wonder Pivot Bed Rail Tall): more length to hold along the side of the mattress.
• Room to make the bed or give care: the Click handles and rail lift off their base, the Prime's handle is removable, and the 30" rail and the Pivot Tall pivot down 180°.
• User weight: FDA advises: "Confirm that the age, size, and weight of the person using the bed rails are appropriate for the bed rails used."
• Help repositioning: FDA lists "a bed trapeze to help reposition while in bed and to get in and out of bed" among the alternatives to rails. See our hospital bed trapeze, or patient lifts when a caregiver has to move the person.

4. Install it the way Stander says

From Stander's manuals for these rails (the Prime manual words some of these differently and does not include the last one):

• "ALWAYS position the product at least 12.5 inches from the head of the bed and the foot of the bed."
• "ALWAYS ensure that the top of bed rail is a minimum of 4 inches (10.2cm) above top surface of mattress."
• "NEVER use unless product is tight against mattress, without gaps and Safety Strap has no slack."
• "NEVER use multiple bed rails on the same side of the bed."

FDA adds: "Check bed rails regularly to make sure they are still installed correctly as rails may shift or loosen over time."

5. Entrapment: read this before you buy

Stander's manuals for the Click models, the 30" rail and the Pivot Tall open with: "There is a risk of entrapment associated with all bed rails." The Prime manual says entrapment "can result in serious injury and death." FDA's guidance for hospital beds "describes seven zones in the hospital bed system where there is a potential for patient entrapment":

• Zone 1: Within the Rail
• Zone 2: Under the Rail, Between the Rail Supports or Next to a Single Rail Support
• Zone 3: Between the Rail and the Mattress
• Zone 4: Under the Rail, at the Ends of the Rail
• Zone 5: Between Split Bed Rails
• Zone 6: Between the End of the Rail and the Side Edge of the Head or Foot Board
• Zone 7: Between the Head or Foot Board and the Mattress End

For adult portable bed rails, FDA says: "Regardless of mattress width, length, and depth, the bed frame, bed rail and mattress should leave no gap wide enough to entrap a patient's head or body."

Who should not use these rails: the Click, 30" and Pivot Tall manuals say: "This product is NEVER to be used by people with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, restlessness, or those who are sedated, confused or frail." The Prime manual says such users "are at increased risk of entrapment and strangulation." FDA adds: "Adult portable bed rails should not be used as a substitute for proper monitoring, especially for people at high risk for entrapment and falls."

The standard: Stander states that each rail we sell passed ASTM F3186-17, which FDA describes this way: "This FDA-recognized international consensus standard establishes performance criteria for adult portable bed rails including resistance to entrapment."

Sources: FDA, Recommendations for Consumers and Caregivers about Adult Portable Bed Rails (content current as of 02/27/2023); FDA, Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment (2006); the Stander owner's manual for each rail (Stander support page).