Burtonlak, when it comes to baths/showers for someone who is older, it is like going to the gym for a work out. It can be very exhausting. Especially if one has memory issues, and/or mobility issues, 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. Sitting in the tub works but it is a major chore getting in to sit down, and more so trying to get up :P
Then there is the fear of falling. If your love one 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.
Towel drying isn't easy. Lot of bending and reaching which can be tiring.
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. Recently I found a product called “Water Wipes” in the baby section, quite pleased with the wipes.
No he doesn't need to bathe daily. When my husband was still slightly mobile, I would help him in the shower every other day, and then when he became completely bedridden, the hospice aides would only come twice a week, to bathe him in his hospital bed. And during the peak of Covid, when hospice wouldn't allow their aides to come any more(for 4 months), my son and I only bathed him once a week, as that was all my son could come and help me. But I did also use the extra large body wipes in between, to keep him as clean as possible. Best wishes.
Get a warm water bidet attachment for the toilet. Bathing daily is unnecessary for old people as their skin is thin. When you do shower him, have a comfy shower chair for him and that the room is warm. Get a space heater if needed. You may want to consider hiring a male attendant to bathe him a few times a week.
We have a shower chair and I was told to place hand towels on shower floor instead of non slip mats. Wet them before entering shower and they are the safest I have found. We have no doors on our shower stall.
I would help him with the bathroom issues and then he would not need to bathe every day. They do get to a point that they can not handle toilet needs by themselves, sounds like your guy is there.
No I don't feel he has to bath daily. Two times a week is what my mother's bathing schedule is in a nursing home
It is more of a process for the elderly to bath. Thus many become more difficult as they age. Perhaps he would be more willing if you explained to him that he does have to but it can be twice a week.
Any way you can make “bathing” a little more appealing than it is to him now?
I always refused to permit showering my mother when she was in residential care, and one day somebody ignored my refusal and showered her AND SHE LOVED IT!
DOes your husband sit in on a chair or bench when he showers? Will he permit bathing (or being bathed) with throw away bath sized premoistened towelettes?
Maybe swush off the “potty area” with a warm wet hand sized towel?
In this very cold part of the world, I think fewer full immersions is actually better than more, but no question that there are hygiene issues that always need immediate attention.
I think you have to pick your battles, and also it depends on what goes on with him during the course of a day. If he soils himself with BM every day then maybe try to deal with the "nether regions". Everything else can be a sponge bath. My family had success with finding a retired nurse to come in a few times a week to get my aunt to bath because she wouldn't cooperate for us and put up a ferocious resistance. But she loves the nurse. Go figure.
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. Sitting in the tub works but it is a major chore getting in to sit down, and more so trying to get up :P
Then there is the fear of falling. If your love one 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.
Towel drying isn't easy. Lot of bending and reaching which can be tiring.
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. Recently I found a product called “Water Wipes” in the baby section, quite pleased with the wipes.
It is more of a process for the elderly to bath. Thus many become more difficult as they age. Perhaps he would be more willing if you explained to him that he does have to but it can be twice a week.
I always refused to permit showering my mother when she was in residential care, and one day somebody ignored my refusal and showered her AND SHE LOVED IT!
DOes your husband sit in on a chair or bench when he showers? Will he permit bathing (or being bathed) with throw away bath sized premoistened towelettes?
Maybe swush off the “potty area” with a warm wet hand sized towel?
In this very cold part of the world, I think fewer full immersions is actually better than more, but no question that there are hygiene issues that always need immediate attention.