Dementia won’t wash? - three hints for hygiene

Intimate care, like supporting someone to have a bath, is a difficult thing for carers of older or frail people. It can be even more difficult if the person you are caring for has dementia. Of course you want the person to be able to do as much as possible for themselves for as long as possible but a time may come when some help is needed. But what do you do if the person won’t accept help?

Sometimes you have to give in! The only essential is for hands to be washed before eating and after using the toilet. You can use moist wipes or a damp cloth for that if they won’t come to the wash hand basin. It’s nice for someone to have their face washed every day. Again there are cloths for that. Being clean under your pants, front and back is also quite important on a daily basis, but in many cases you can get away with it, now and again. Help with these things may be needed, but if the bathroom is being turned into a battle ground, there are some basic things that can make life easier.

There’s more about this in the blog Bathing in the Bathroom with an emphasis on three things

1. Safety in the bathroom is paramount

2. Use products that can keep your life simple

3. Don’t let bathing cause a battle; dirt isn’t all bad.

There is much more about bathing and personal hygiene in  Carers and Caring: The One-Stop Guide: How to care for older relatives and friends - with tips for managing finances and accessing the right support  available from all good bookshops