Good hygiene. Peewee no longer has this.

ladypeewee

I'm having problems getting Peewee to take baths or showers. I got him to put on clean socks the other day and now I have to cut his toenails for him, his toenails were so long they were curving under to the bottom side of his toes. My question is how often should I trim his toenails. I can get him to take a bath once a week but no more than that. he won't change his clothes more often then that. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Ed1937

Good to see you posting again, but sorry for the new problems. Here is a link about toenails. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-cut-toenails#:~:text=Most%20people's%20toenails%20grow%20about,you%20trim%20them%20more%20often.

Bathing once a week might be enough, especially of he is not very active, which I think you said is the case. Some people would love it if their LO would bathe once a week.

ghphotog

My DW is the same. I also keep her nails trimmed, she wears the same clothes day in and day out, even sleeping in them. No law against that. Showering is always filled with much drama and so I only shower her twice a month but try to keep her in clean underwear and socks.

tigersmom

Lady Peewee, I feel for you. My DH is still amenable to daily showering, but yesterday he asked for help trimming his toenails. I was astounded by how long they were (he always wears socks, even to bed). This may sound nutty, but the way I overcame my DH's budding resistance to showering was to go in there with him. It helped that for many years of our marriage we showered together; that only changed when I went back to work in 2016. Now that we are both retired, we were still showering separately, and I had the feeling he wasn't doing a good enough job on the dirty parts. Now there is a routine. I enter first, adjust the water temperature to a little colder than I like it (perfect for him) and invite him in. I ask him to rinse his underarms, then I scrub his armpits and pass on the soap with instructions (wash your chest, wash your privates, etc.) He gets cleaner and I get no resistance. I am not saying this will last forever, but it seems to be working at the moment. I estimate my DH is mid-stage 5. Good luck with your Peewee; this is one horrible disease.

ladypeewee

Thanks for the advice.

Tigersmom Peewee has not taken showers with me since we were young. He won't even change clothes in the same room as me. His face gets red anytime he thinks I might see him with no clothes on. Peewee also sleeps in his clothes and socks and sometimes his shoes and coat. it's hard to get him out of his clothes. He will take a shower when I tell him he has a doctor's appointment, that's how I get him to bath when I do. I have to write the appointment on the monthly planner and show it to him a few days before the appointment.

ghphotog I have been dealing with his Alzhimer's since 2014 I chose my battles one at a time, and as long as I can stand to smell him then he's fine. He spends the better part of his day in bed and his nights too.

LJCHR

This could almost be me. My DH still showers/shaves and brushes his teeth each day by himself, but he would never change clothes except that I put out clean ones for him, even though half the time he puts the dirty ones back on. So far he will change to the clean ones when I ask him to. He also sleeps in socks (I'm guessing this is a security thing?). The other day I saw his toenails and they were growing under as well. He let me clip his toenails which is something he has never let me do before as he always kept them clipped himself. He continues to clip his fingernails routinely.

We are only in 2nd year since diagnosis even though there were symptoms longer than that - and I know that today is the best day we'll have with this horrible disease.

My heart goes out to all of us - but thank goodness we are here for our LO.

ladyzetta

Dear Lady.

When my DH was home, I would take him to the Senior Center every other month and there were people there that did the toenail clipping. I was paying $30.00 to have this done, until they found out he was a diabetic then they had a different person cut his nails and there was no charge. They would wash, massage his feet then cut his toenails. He loved it. It's nice seeing you post, take care. Hugs Zetta

Elshack

LadyPeeWee,

I wonder if you could have Hospice assess Pee Wee. They help in many situations and if you qualify it doesn't cost anything. They could help with the bathing situation and also advise you re: toenail clipping. I used to clip my DH's toenails and ended up cutting into his skin and had to take him to urgent care! Now he is a memory care facility but for 4 and 1/2 yrs I took care of him at home. You could get your Dr to refer your DH to hospice or you could call hospice yourself.

I used the kind of soap on my DH that does not require water when he would not want to take a shower. It comes in a dispenser and can be used on any body part.

Pat6177

Good to hear from you Lady Peewee. I’ve been wondering how things were going for you. As for showering, I don’t have any advice. My DH showers every 2 weeks with a few 3 week stretches over the winter. Fortunately, he doesn’t usually smell. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the summer heat. He will shower for major holidays (Christmas, Easter) and for certain dr appts. I have to start suggesting a shower 4 to 5 days ahead of time. When he’s finally getting into the shower, I put out the clean clothes and take the dirty ones out of the room so he doesn’t put them back on. For right now, he still trims his own nails. I know because he often doesn’t remember where the toe nail clippers are. Hang in there!