Hello all, new to the forum. My father is fighting me regarding taking showers. I try to let him make his own decisions but if I don't mention to him how his hygiene he will not notice? I guess? Anyway, wanting to know if this is normal behavior regarding dementia patients?
Yes, change in hygiene and resistance to showering is very common. Depending on the person you may be able to tell your father a "therapeutic fib" to motivate him to shower, like someone is coming to visit, you're going out somewhere, going to church, etc. In my family that worked for a while but then we resorted to hiring an agency to come in to get my aunt to shower once a week. There is no point in having a lot of drama over it since your dad just can't help it, and you need to reduce your stress as you attempt to care for him. Your father is very young, and so I gently suggest that you start considering in-home help or a care facility for him as he will just get worse and his needs increase greatly. Your first responsibility is to your wife (and kids if you have any). You should not be orbiting around your father, as this will start to happen very subtly and before you know it you are exhausted and burnt out. Please read the thousands of posts on this website written by loving children struggling to care for parents with dementia and coming to the point of burn out. Please don't let that be you. Blessings!