Tag: bathing

How Do Caregivers Deal with a Patient Who Refuses to Bathe?

Posted on by Abraham Aquino

How Do Caregivers Deal with a Patient Who Refuses to Bathe?

Being a family caregiver for an older adult is a selfless act of kindness, love and loyalty. Such a noble role, however, can prove challenging, especially for those who were not trained as professional caregivers. We are reminded of this on difficult days, such as when our elderly relative refuses help with bathing.

Many seniors refuse to bathe due to the onset of dementia, concerns about safety in the tub, a lack of interest, arthritis, or other issues. Bathing is an important part of personal hygiene, and we must make sure this need is met, even if that requires us to change our approach.  Private nurses and professional caregivers are trained to do just that.. Here are some of their tactics:

Home Care Services for Your Loved One - Nurse Partners

Use Negotiation Skills

Even though the older adult requires care, we must be careful to respect their dignity.  They have lived long and fulfilling lives and do not appreciate taking instructions as if they were children again.  In brief, this means that they do not like being told what to do. Private nurses and professional caregivers take the time to connect before providing care. This might mean preparing a favorite meal or taking them to see a friend after bath time. 

Speak Favorably About Bath Time

Trained and experienced carepartners understand your loved one’s mindset and frame bath time as a positive experience rather than a chore. For instance, they may use the words, “pampering” or “relaxing” in reference to bathing. They may even use nicely scented soaps to encourage your relative to relax while taking care to warm a towel for use before getting out.

In addition, private nurses are more compassionate and sensitive to patients who may be embarrassed by body odors and soiled clothing. This in turn helps the elderly patient to feel at ease. 

Professionals rely heavily on positive reinforcement in their work. Elders, just like everybody else, love compliments. A private nurse will be quick to point out how good a senior smells after taking a bath, compliment them on their choice of clean clothes, and so on.

Make it a Gradual Process

Sprinkler faucetA full shower or bath may be intimidating for some elders. Maybe your loved one falls into this category. A private nurse could break down the task into stages to make it easier. They may begin with simply asking to wipe off your loved one’s face. If they are receptive then the private nurse will gradually move to gently clean their underarms and other parts of the body, all while engaging them in conversation. 

The private nurse will stop once your loved one becomes resistant. They know that your relative may eventually warm up to the idea of a full bath or shower.

Having the Know-How

Some seniors may not like the idea of getting a bath from a stranger.  This is why it is important to build your care team early.  Trust takes time to develop.  After establishing a routine, older adults become comfortable with assistance, even when it requires help bathing. 

Nurse Care in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties

Nurse Partners' LogoGetting your aging loved ones to take a bath can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. Fortunately, you have access to professional help. At NursePartners our private nurses are experienced in helping your loved ones to maintain proper personal hygiene while helping them to keep their dignity intact. They are also trained to assist your loved ones with their medical needs. 

Contact us today by calling 610.323.9800 for a free consultation.

Building Hands-On Caregiving Skills for Dementia Care

Posted on by NursePartners

doctor-holding-elderly-ladys-hand-752x501As dementia progresses, it is vital to appreciate the changes in a person’s ability to be able to connect. One critical element that is often missed when trying to share information is the value of changing our delivery process. Dementia care pioneer Teepa Snow developed the hand-under-hand technique, as a guiding and assisting technique that provides family members and caregivers with an amazing connection. It promotes a physical touch connection that is friendly, comforting and attention-getting without being intrusive or overbearing.

It also provides a system of feedback and communication between the a loved one living with dementia, and a caregiver. Hand-in-hand uses the much practiced and automatic connection between the eye and hand to form a closed circuit between the person who is struggling to understand words and tasks and the care partner. It provides a comforting and calming human connection using a familiar grasp and proprioceptive (deep pressure) in the palm at the base of the thumb.

This eye-hand connection is one of the very first sensory-motor loops established in infants is used endlessly throughout our lives. By using the palmer surface of the hand, and taking the person through the desire motion or movement, we are communicating with touch and movement, without the need for words.

It’s also important and helpful to position yourself below the eye level of the person with dementia. If you do only these two simple things (get down and use Hand Under Hand), life will be much easier on everyone. Guaranteed.

Remember: the purpose is to control the situation, not the person. Dementia care partners are in the process together: always do whatever you can to respect the independence, rights and dignity of the person with dementia.

The use of hand-under-hand is multi-faceted:

  • It is used when greeting someone to sustain a physical connection, allowing the person to become more comfortable with your presence in their intimate space. It differs from a normal handshake that can be uncomfortable to sustain. By having a hand-under-hand rap, you will be able to tell if the person is enjoying your presence and wants you to allow them more space. If they keep trying to let go you, let go and move back further. They may need a break or may not you in their intimate space (within arms reach) at that moment.
  • It can be used when helping your loved one move around. It provides greater stability and support as well as a feedback loop.
  1. Since the arm is the rudder that guides the ship, by rotating the foreman outward or inward you can direct the walking path.
  2. By tipping the forearm down you can indicate physically the cue to sit down in a seat or on the bed.
  3. By tipping the forearm upward you can help the person stand upright.

When used in combination with a gesture or point, it can help provide directions and reassurance when moving through the environment in the later stages, or when in an unfamiliar setting. Because a family member or caregiver is close to the person, the awareness of balance, coordination, fear, or distress is telegraphed can be responded to in a timely manner.

  • Hand-under-hand is essential during the Amber, Ruby, and Pearl gem stages. It allows you to use their dexterity to operate the tool or utensil while your loved one is still actively participating and moving their body parts toward their body (hand to mouth, hand to chest) as they have done for their entire lives. This automatic loop allows people living with dementia a sense of both control and involvement.

Finally, it provides the caregiver or family member a way to get feedback on preferences, understanding, readiness and willingness to participate. It provides a way to do with, not to do or do for.

In the video below, Snow demonstrates how to use Hand Under Hand™ as part of the process of helping someone to bathe. But Hand Under Hand™ can be used in multiple ways: to help someone to eat, to walk, or even to calm down in a crisis.

NursePartners is committed to providing uncompromised care to those living with a diagnosis of Dementia. Our CarePartners are trained in the GEM Level Approach, and work with each family to enable safety, comfortability and happiness through home-care services.

If your loved one need home care assistance or relief, our team would love to help.

Contact us today.