How to bathe someone with dementia?

Revised:

My husband has dementia and he hates to shower or to bathe. He fights with me everytime I take him to the shower. Yes, I wipe him and give him sponge baths, but that can only go so far. Everyone needs to shower to wash away the odor and dead skin. How do I do this without engaging in a battle with him?

Anyone with similar issues? Tips?

Worriredspouse, as we age it isn't easy to take a shower. I have noticed for myself that taking a shower is like going to the gym for a workout. It can be very exhausting for many seniors. Especially with your hubby having memory lost, etc.

Another thing, some seniors become claustrophobic when in a shower. Especially if there are glass doors. I know for myself, I need to keep the far door open a couple of feet.

Then there is the fear of falling. If your hubby is using a moisturizing liquid soap and/or hair conditioners, it will make the floor of the tub/shower feel like an ice rink, even with a tub mat inside. I almost slipped the other day.

Towel drying isn't easy. I find myself hopping around trying to get one foot and leg dry, can be a challenge. So easy to get one's feet tangled up in the towel.

Then if hubby needs to blow dry his hair, that can be tiring on his arms.

Whew !!

A parent doesn't need to shower daily, twice a week or once a week is good enough, unless they are doing hard labor. If a parent is a Depends wearer, baby wipes work quite well between showers. I found a good product called "water wipes" which is in the baby section.

If money allows you to, I would hire a bath aide to come in once a week and let them do the heavy work. A good one will be able to get him clean without the same battle you face.

Do you have a shower chair? Is your bathroom bright? That can cause a person to not be able to determine where the floor, the walls etc are and can increase their chances of falling. Does he have to step into the tub or do you have a walk in shower. There are lots of mechanical aides available to help and increase safety, if you haven't done it, talk to his doctor and ask them for a occupational therapist referral, they will help you get the bathroom to the best possible condition for dealing with a difficult bather.

Best of luck. Hugs to you!

Continue to Sponge your husband Here, Dear, It's better than Nothing. If he is the way he is then it could even get to the Point where you can't Do any Sponging at all. My sister helps sometimes my Dad take a Sponge bath because he refuses to go into the shower or bath tub, cannot breath. He takes a sponge bath mostly Alone at Home, As long as he is Clean and has fresh clothes and deodorant, He is Good as Gold.

My husband is the same. I hired a lady to come in every other week to groom him. She cuts his hair, trims finger and toe nails, and shaves him. It is his own personal barber time. He loves the attention and pampering ... shes great and only costs $40 a time. The catch is...he has to take a shower the morning before she gets here. He is 98% blind so he struggles with it, but since hiring her, he gets right up and allows me to help him get showered and ready for her appointment. I know twice a month doesn’t seem like enough but its all I can get without a fight and it seems to be doing the trick. When we cruise, he showers almost everyday. I think the big open walkin shower in the ambulatory room is less scary somehow. Good luck...find a treat that will make him want to shower for. It took me almost a year to figure it out. Much love for you and your situation.

I understand! My mother-in-law wouldn't go near the shower and refused to get washed up as well, went on for MONTHS-can you imagine? Even though you can't reason with a person with dementia, I tried. Sometimes up to a couple of hours, nothing. The only thing that worked was making her feel "uncomfortable". I "spilled" water on her lap when she was sitting. She stood up and didn't know what to do. I told her we had to get her clothes off so we didn't drip water all over-which we did in the shower. From there I could wash her. It just took something to make her feel uncomfortable and to feel she needed help. That was about a year ago. For the past couple of months, she's been wearing adult underwear. My father-in-law takes them off at night and washes her bottom. Now, I come later in the day and when it's time for changing her underwear, he sits her in the shower and and tells her we need to wash her bottom. It starts out that way, but then becomes an all over shower. So, they do change. Last year she wouldn't eat and was withering away. Now, she's constantly looking for something to eat. Very strange. I'm VERY sorry for what you are going through and hope you have extra help so you can get a break-so important! I don't know if this will help you, but it truly was our only recourse. It didn't hurt her and was for her good, so I could rest in that.

My Mother hates showers and I can't put her in a tub, so here's what works for us:  I put grips on the wall (removable suction grips) and have her hold them while standing in the tub.  Then I soap her down and rinse her.  If you have a hand-held shower head, rinsing is easy, but you could also use a plastic cup.  If he's afraid of falling (my Mother is) just be very patient and once they hold the grips, it's very reassuring.

I'm like you in that I think people need a good scrub at least once a week.  Otherwise, they smell and the bed linens smell.  When I tell my Mother that she smells bad, she is much more agreeable to getting cleaned up.  My Dad has someone from home health come in twice a week and this works well for him.  His doctor prescribed home health.

Shower chair in the tub and a hand-held shower might work, assuming you can get your husband to go into the bathroom, take off his clothing, and sit on the chair. After toileting might be a good idea because he'd already have his pants down. Some people don't like standing under a shower that's coming down on their head, but hand-held can be directed where it's needed and minimizes the water on the head and face. There's also way less risk of falling. Have grab bars installed too. Use a towel on the seat as it's more comfy and also allows the person assisting with the shower to move the person on the chair if necessary.

Often fear is the biggest factor.
Does he have a bench seat or shower chair to sit on? If not that might be helpful.
Do you have a hand held shower sprayer? If so start as his feet and go up. When you get to torso go from behind so the spray is not hitting the chest and face. These are two "vulnerable" areas and can cause fear.
Give him control over the sprayer if possible so he can direct the water where it is comfortable for him.
When my Husband was walking I purchased used walkers from resale stores and put them in the shower for him to hold onto. He was more apt to hold a walker than grab onto the grab bars since he was used to the walker. But he did use the grab bars once in a while. When he was no longer walking I used a shower wheelchair. (I have a roll in shower...lucky me!)
The bathroom can be noisy. So when you don't need the water on turn it off so it is more quiet.
Talk to him in a low soothing voice. Actually lower the pitch of your voice as higher pitched voices can seem harsher. If he likes music soft music might help but be careful as sounds can bounce off walls in the bathroom making noises seem louder.
And do not worry about showering every day. In my State it is required only 2 times a week in residential facilities so if you get in 2 great if you get 3 in you're doing better than State minimum standards! And bathing every day may not be the best for fragile skin anyway.
If all else fails you could hire someone to come in 2X a week to give him a shower.

Showering can become very uncomfortable as a person gets more frail and temperature control don't function well. WET = COLD. Be sure the bathroom is plenty warm before even getting undressed. A shower chair, handrails and a hand held shower spray are big helps, too, but sometimes it's the cold that makes a person resist showering.

Hiring a bath aide is a wonderful idea if you can afford to do so. Most home care aides have 3 or 4 hour minimums, so maybe you could plan a day a week or so to get help or to take a break while the aide is on duty.

I had the same problem until I found out why my mother didn't want to take a bath. She didn't want to get wet and cold. So I used a space heater to get the bathroom warm and toasty. Then I put some warm water in the tub, not a lot but enough to wash. I have a wash cloth all soaked up and ready to go. Then I tell her to come get her bath before it gets cold. I never ask her yes and no questions I guide the conversation as if she already agreed to it. Eventually it became a non issue for us. Keep calm and be patient. Any sign of frustration will stop any progress. If it fails one day just try again the next day.

This is described as one of the most common problems for a variety of reasons of people with dementia. I've read it all, heard it all. The fact that you can do as much as you are doing is way more than some of us can do! Be grateful for that, and don't stress. If I hear one more person say "create a spa like environment" yada yada I will assault them! One answer that made sense was to get an aide in to help, that a stranger/professional might have better luck. Nope. Of course it depends on the stranger and how much effort they're willing to put forth. When our aide was not getting anywhere I thought well, at least she should do some housecleaning for the 4 hour minimum shift. I think that was not what the aide wanted to do (i.e. actually work). So now not much is getting done and I feel like I need to be present to supervise which is like watching 3 children instead of two! All to conclude that the new reality may be that your husband does not shower, and you will reduce your stress if plan B doesn't work. I realize everyone is different, but the stress and physical fight is not worth it. My mother is almost 97 and we are very sure she has not showered for over 2 years. I KNOW. It sounds dreadful but there is no odor thank goodness. SHe may be washing around..but to me it is not enough to justify nursing home placement when she is otherwise functional in many ways. And if in a NH, then what? So they can terrorize her by force? I've heard so many different points of view. From the great neurologist who specializes who thinks it sounds ageist there are others who say let it go ("if she was 50 do you think they would?") to a nurse and social worker who say they've seen people go for years...Now, if there are other issues, like strong odor or skin breaking down etc...then I don't know what options there are beyond force and threat if it gets to that and nothing else works. But for us, the battle right now is for me to learn, which I am, to just let it go. Unless Teepa Snow starts making home visits:-) LOL.

For some reason for some reason dementia patients are fearful of the water or being undressed and feeling cold. It's found that if you have the room very very warm this will help calm them and comfort them. Have the water very warm temperature before you get them in there also. I hope this helps

A small SAFE heater to warm the bathroom, a hand-held shower attachment, and a shower bench can help a lot. Think a little like you were bathing an infant. You could put a cape over him and shower/clean his hair, then wrap his hair in a towel or bandana. Then, cover lower half with said cape and shower/clean his upper torso then pin small towel around shoulders. Last, clean lower half. With children, it helps to empower them. If you feel it is safe to do so, allow your husband to manipulate the hand-held shower as much as he can; he can be holding the shower (you can help him if needed by holding his hand that holds the shower attachment) and then you just finish up what he can't reach. Make sure that you're standing on non-slippery surface.

Thanks for all who shared tips. The advise to just let it go and not to stress is valuable. I found that working on my own expectations & anxiety about my mother not showering sufficiently is key. I try to calm down & prepare myself mentally beforehand. If showering doesn’t work today, maybe the next day will. People with dementia are good at picking the moods of their family members and care givers. Giving control over the hand held shower works as a lot of stress is about loosing control to start with. The same “tricks” don’t always work. It was most helpful for me to read what people here said about all the fears: of the cold, wet, falling, being undressed. It made me realize that we probably superimpose a rational attitude: “what’s the big deal”, but trying to appreciate that there is a genuine fear helps in not trivializing the fear. I try positive reinforcement like “bravo Mammy” when she does sth right. I try saying how lovely she looks after the shower. Being patient really helps because after the protesting and resisting, there is often relief and even enjoyment once it becomes clear that the water is pleasantly warm, and once it sinks in that we are there to give support so the fear of falling or slipping is at least minimized. Thanks all.

This is a wonderful video. Explaining why those with dementia may resist showers and providing some ideas on what to do. Remember there is more than one way to get clean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhale-uqY40&t=686s

Would you try to reason with an infant? That’s what he is now. Get someone young to assist you. If not, there’s nothing wrong in being creative...do you have lawn sprinklers?

http://1000awesomethings.com/2011/01/21/325-jumping-through-the-sprinkler-in-your-bathing-suit/

Home Health Care and/or Hospice will send someone to help you.

If it were me and my spouse would not cooperate with something so necessary, I would hire a caretaker and along with the caretaker I would forcibly put him in the shower and make him get clean. I would not and could not tolerate this and no matter what he did, I'd make darn sure he did get into the shower. This is disgusting. Perhaps it is time to think of placing him somewhere before he totally destroys your sanity. I have no compassion for this nonsense.

YOU do not do this. You hire someone to come in and perform this task on your LO.

Get a man to do it.

Now that I have opinionated myself on another subject here, I will move on.


To the OP. The last several months that Luz was at home with me, I applied all of the advice given here. But what worked for us was to use the step-in bath tub.
She loved it. Even when she developed hesitation with stepping up the six inches to get into HER tub.
You might try contacting some rehab or therapy businesses to see if they have a step in tub you might be able to rent for an hour or so even if you have to pay for a therapist with it, to supervise.
I can tell you that Luz loved her time spent in that tub. It was no less than an hour each time. That included her washing the tile walls with her bare hands.

I wish the best to both of you.

gdaughter, thank you for your kind words on hair washing. I really do appreciate it!! I got creative with her. I told her yesterday I was coming over today to wash her and wash her hair and then on Saturday I would take her to the casino. Her face lit up and smiled. I know I just made a deal with devil, lol. She let me bathe her and wash her hair so now I have to take my gambling addict mother to the casino. She lost everything from gambling except her house. I felt I had no other choice. It’s the only thing in this world that makes her happy. She has told me this over and over again. Thank you for your kind words. You are inspirational.