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cgmom1997 Asked August 2009

What can I do to help a parent who cannot walk to the toilet by themselves in the middle of the night?

nastaran Oct 2016
Hi, may be making some bedrooms with a hole in the middle part and putting a container under the hole and want the old person to use that part as wc while sleepingon the bed can be a good way for those who can not stand or walk . Although it will have bad psychological effect but may be can help alittle

linda09 Sep 2009
i would hear dad and get up and take him to bathroom . cant let him get up on his own cuz he falls !! he has tried that so manytimes and he end up getting hurt.. i know a lady that fell in her bathroom busted her face up so badly and few days later she died . her body went into a shock . it was so horrible . i had to remind dad about that lady .
dementia sometimes they just dont think . remind him over and over . i dont know how manytimes i almost fell by hanging on to him . all that meds hes takin makes him loppy loo . so just keep ur ears open and take him to bathroom urself and u ll be happy to know he s ok ...
few years ago he did went to bathroom alone and fell broke his ribs . fell into the bathtub !! i reminded him about that too .

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195Austin Aug 2009
I also used a table cloth that had a fabric backing under sheets for my husband and it was a good idea because the heavy pads made my washing machine shake and the tablecloths were easy to wash by hand and would dry pretty easily-diapers are not a good idea for the reasons noted above and can lead to skin breakdown esp. at night if using a commode putting a little water in the pan makes it easier to clean after use, a lift would be hard unless the person is light in weight or not able to stand at all.

ydelira Aug 2009
My mother has Lung Fibrosis and cannot not breath very good. Within the last 2 weeks she has lost all muscle mass in her legs and can no longer walk or stand. How do I get her to the toilet? I have a commode by her bed but she cannot stand to get to it? How do I bath her now?

Nataly1 Aug 2009
If a person is having any form of dementia they might not understand what a commode is or how now how to use it. When my mom was in her middle dementia moments, I bought a commode and she never used it- she prefered to try to make it to her "known" bathroom, although not always successful. My dad on the other hand who was cognitively intact would use the portable urinal. I also set up a system with a baby monitor so that I could hear his movements- and I put bells on his walker so when he used it- which he always did, would alert me that he was up. Granted, I was awaken from many deep sleep nights to take dad to the bathroom. Be careful with using diapers- It may make your life easier, but for the person with incontinence, diapers can take away their self respect. Night time diaper use can also lead to day time incontinence. Imagine what it would be like if you know that you have to go to the bathroom and instead you now are to "pee" laying in bed. This goes against everything we are taught about toilet training from childhood. When a person is cognitively aware, knowing that someone needs to empty the commode can cause emarassment- which will lead to non use.

1215 Aug 2009
My father was able to walk to the bathroom until recently. So, we put the bedside commode right next to the bed along with his walker put on lock. Between the two, he can steady himself to get on the commode and back to the bed by himself for now. We also put a sturdy plastic table cloth under the commode with electrical tape in case he misses. Just be sure it is not where he could slip on it. We also put an underpad on top of the table cloth again just be sure he can not slip on it. We are getting another bed tomorrow as hospice has switched equipment companies, so we will be getting what they call reposition or half rails, so we hope this will enable him to get in and out of the bed more easily too.

Anita Aug 2009
You have a few options. You could get him something like Depends to wear at night and have a pad to protect the bed in case it the depends leaks. You could also get a male urinal next to the bed for him to use, the commode next to the bed is a good idea and also, what I am doing for my mom who has Parkinson's and can't stand or walk, is I am getting her a patient lift so I can transfer her to the commode or bed or chair without hurting either of us.

luvgrandma Aug 2009
We bought a baby monitor for my grandma. When she wakes up and needs to go during the night, she talks into the monitor to wake the person on duty. A little less sleep at times, but it seems to be a good solution for us.

Kat123 Aug 2009
You may not like my response but we put a commode next to my Mom's bed so she can stand next to her bed and move to the chair while holding on to it. Her bathroom is upstairs so it has pretty much become her primary toilet but that is good because she has gotten used to using it. The only downside is having to empty it, not so bad when you think of the mess there could be :)

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