These are excellent tips! It's also helpful to know that daily bathing isn't necessary or recommended for older adults. This article explains more: https://www.carecompany.com/post/hygiene-for-seniors-how-often-bathe

seven weeks since last shower and counting......new walk in shower with hand held shower head, turn room's thermostat up to 80 and still no go. he offers all sorts of excuses including i just took a shower yesterday, too cold, water too warm, too slippery. i am at the end of my rope re: showering.still trying to get an aide in to take over this one job as i can handle re rest
and he used to shower daily

This is very helpful. However, it's very difficult for us (his aide and me) because Dad gets angry when we ask him to take a shower with his aide assisting him. Sometimes, Dad says that he would do it after he has his coffee or he smokes, and then he changed his mind afterwards! It's so frustrating!!!! He goes for weeks before he takes another shower and change clothes.

I just finished reading the many helpful suggestions for bathing and found them helpful and also gave me encouragement. I am caring of my 82 yr. old male friend. We are not married but rode the school bus together for years. He never married but did care for his blind diabetic mother for years. To overcome his modesty and his "man should be in charge attitude" I told him about watching my foreign born grandfather and how I used to watch him go thru his daily shave and while he washed himself with water in the sink. He would stand in front of sink looking into the mirror and shave himself with a straight razor. His cup with a brush had the shaving soap in it. He wore suspenders that he slipped off and they hung by his side. He would fill the sink with warm water - wet his shaving brush and apply the suds to his face. Then he would deftly use the straight razor to remove his beard. The fun part for me was watching him make faces in the mirror while he shaved. When he discovered it amused me - he did it just for me. We would laugh and I would try to make the same faces. Then he would wash under his arms and his upper torso. My father died when I was very young and he was the strong man in my life. He was a quiet man but we did share those moments. He would tell me that he felt Americans took too many baths and it wasn't good for you. Since he was born in the late 1800's his view of bathing was very different from what we have now.
When I assist my friend I tell him these stories and other ones to take his mind off the fact I am doing something he thinks he should be doing (but can't). In my case humor has been a way I have dealt with many of life's unpleasant moments. We laugh a lot. It is a great exercise - laughing!

I really enjoyed reading all the creative suggestions...I'm considering printing it out and saving it....good chance it'll get some use in 10 years or so...thank you!

I take care of my 89 yr old mother, she has fallen a couple of times in the bathroom before, so I take a very soft washcloth and gently wash her back side, legs, then sit her gently on towel on the toilet, place dry towel around her legs (so not to get chilled, then proceed to her stomach and up from there. Remember to place another towel around the shoulders, then she is all wrapped up warm while I spray a no rinse shampoo on her hair and dry, comb in place(she still likes her dignity in tact) and she's ready for a nap. Hope this helps...

My husband is hemiplegic after a stroke five years ago. I spot-wash him almost daily and we use disposable briefs. He's not incontinent -- he just can't get to the bathroom on his own. We also make use of a urinal during the night, in which I do 'jug duty'. Kind of labor-intensive on my part but we're OK with it. We are both fortunate to be able to accept what has happened.

Confused24, does your area have a pharmacy that sells medical equipment? Usually such a pharmacy will have inventory book that you can look through to find exactly what you need.

You might be able to find a shower chair where the legs fold that can be used in a bubble bath.

Ashley, thank you for putting all this great information into one article :)

Need to find a bath mat, pad with lumbar support, suction cups stadium chair seat, etc.- looking for something for mother with late alzheimers dementia,so she is able to sit comfortably in her bath tub to soak in her bubble bath. I already have many handicapped grab bars, grip handles, non-slip strips in her shower area and bath tub. She is unable to hold herself sitting up when soaking. I am having to stand behind her in the tub so she can lean back on my lower legs as a support while she soaks, so she does not slip down into the water. We do take a shower once a week with a shower chair and hand held shower head. She looks forward to "Soaking" in her bubble bath and aromatherapy oils. Any suggestions will be appreciated.