We all know that having a nice, warm bath at the end of the day is one of life’s pleasures. But if you need to bathe a person with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, this can be a quite frustrating experience. It can even become dangerous for some caregivers, as well. It is very common for the Alzheimer’s patient to fight taking a bath because he thinks he already took one. Fear of taking a bath can be one of the harder aspects of dealing with a dementia patient. However, with some practice of some basic techniques, bathing the patient can become much easier and even enjoyable for him.
How To Ready the Patient for a Bath
Many patients with Alzheimer’s fear water and often are reluctant to cooperate with you. Cindy Keith, RN, BS, CDP is an expert in teaching family caregivers how to work with patients. She notes that it is important for the caregiver to focus more on the person and not on the bathing task. You should try to speak to the patient in a very friendly and upbeat way. It is a good idea to be as cheerful as possible. Keith states that singing to the patient can often calm him down.
However, she notes that if the patient is being disagreeable and will not bathe without a fight, she just lets it go. Remember that having your loved one take a bath every single day is rarely essential. To keep basic hygiene, most patients can be bathed just twice per week. However, the areas of the body that tend to get dirty the most – hands, face, and chest – should be quickly cleaned with a sponge or cloth daily.
Prepare the Bathroom
Before you bring your loved one into the bathroom for the bath, you should have everything ready an in place. Be sure that the room is quite warm and the mirrors are covered with sheets. This will help the patient to be more comfortable about taking his clothes off; some patients do not recognize the reflection in the mirror and may not want to get undressed.
It is a good idea to have soft music and lighting in the room. Keith says that you want to give the most comfortable setting as possible for the patient. She also recommends using attractive towels and pleasant aromas that may make the bathing experience more pleasant. The more you can make the bath experience more like a pleasant spa experience, the easier the whole process will be.
Alzheimer’s Products for the Bathroom
Peri Wash can keep the Alzheimer’s patient clean on non-bathing days with no rinsing.
There are many wonderful products for the bathroom that will make the bathing experience easier with your loved one. We recommend the Bellavita Auto Bath Lift that can help to put your loved one in and out of the bathtub if he has trouble doing it on his own. It features a remote control that is water tight and floats, so that it is simple to access the controls in the bath.
For days where you are not going to give him a bath, you can use No Rinse Peri Wash, which is a perineal wash that is used to clean up urine and fecal matter without washing or rinsing.
Our next article contains more tips on bathing the Alzheimer patient.