Hygiene Issues

valerieorr

Recently my MIL has developed hygiene issues to the point she has a bad odor. She had given up using her walk-in tub and was doing a good job washing up in the sink. But within the last 2 weeks or so she hasn't been washing up and it's noticeable. Her use of antiperspirant doesn't help. She also isn't brushing her teeth or putting her dentures in to soak or changing all of her clothes. She will often sleep in her clothes.

I have put pj's on her bed at night with her disposable underwear (which she still seems to wear fairly regularly, although she uses the toilet during the day). She still sleeps in her clothes and often will not change the shirts she likes to wear under her "overshirt".

She generally does not want me to assist with any of her personal care or dressing, and is basically adversarial with my husband and I being in her home with her. Getting her into a routine or trying to help so she's not late for church, etc. is almost impossible (even though she's up 2 hours before we leave for church…and she's the one who wants to go).

Ideas? Help?

Thank you!

Lynn24

I experienced same with my mother earlier in her dementia disease about a year and a half ago. She believed that she had already showered for the day. She also began sleeping in her clothes.
I hired a caregiver, for two and a half hours, to come into our house every morning,, to help to assist her with her hygiene and it has worked fairly well for almost two years.

psg712

When my mom was in AL, her dementia progressed to the point that she stopped changing clothes ot bathing. I tried to encourage her and she resisted my efforts. I found that she responded much better to the staff helping her than to me. We did notice that staff who offered choices ("would you like to wash up now?") were often refused. The ones who said "it's time for your shower" got her cooperation.

snowmegz

Once a week I persuade my mom (Alz stage 6) to take a shower by convincing her that she has a doctor's appointment the next day or that it is a holiday. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. At this stage, I try several times on Saturdays and Sundays….just to get her to shower. I also have to walk her through the process- to make sure she washes herself with soap and a washcloth. She doesn't let me help yet. I think I am eventually going to have to just enforce the fact that I have to stay in the bathroom with her.

Emily 123

Hi,

Sometimes a bath is easier to coax them into—sounds like she's having difficulty with both the task initiation and recognizing the time of day/passage of time. I found that if I set things up for my mom while she was out of the room that she would sometimes assume she had laid out her clothes and she'd change. If you think this decrease from doing daily sponge baths is fairly abrupt you could have her checked for a UTI. The UTI and the poor hygiene is kind of a chicken and the egg thing —who knows which comes first sometimes…

valerieorr

thank you for the suggestions. we do have someone come in twice a week and she has started to see that she takes a bath and changes clothes. It's just so weird that she went from changing 4 times a day to zero.

Anonymousjpl123

My mom’s Memory Care and I working on this now: here’s what has helped:

• I pretend I’m her stylist (that works for washing hair)
• Staff get her in the shower by sitting and talking with her a long time first, then doing it as an afterthought
• I’m buying her a chair for the shower

They got her to let them help her dress by pretending it was an extra spa service she was getting as well. It is all still a work in progress because sometimes she’s really upset and angry after the fact but it had to happen they were worried about health issues.

scoutmom405

What finally worked early on for my FIL was something the nurse suggested to us. We got a marker board & I would write the date & a to do list & upcoming list. Example

To Do: take a shower , change clothes, Call your daughter

Upcoming: Wed Dr Appt 11am

Sometimes it took a day or 2 for him to read it but he would follow directions.

Unfortunately now it's hard for him to read. He listens when I say time for shower & lay out everything he needs.

valerieorr

thank you for the great ideas!

mommyandme (m&m)

There came a time for us when moms clothes were changed only after a shower or the clothes were soiled. She had comfortable elastic pants and comfy shirts she wore day and night. Changing clothes seemed to really upset her as she declined, things just got scary when she didn’t understand the why. Because she was fairly sedentary, showers/bathing was only needed once a week at most. I cleaned her with adult wet wipes after she didn’t understand how to wipe herself.

All the new milestones of decline are difficult and upsetting, at least for me. I had to “accept and adjust” to them since mom could not. Wasn’t easy, but helped us along in our journey.