Onset of bowel and bladder incontinence

Jean loves wildlife

My DH has mild to moderate dementia. Recently he has had a few instances of bladder and bowel incontinence. Not too often so far, fortunately, but I know this will progress. He seems unaware of what is happening, coming out of the bathroom to say "my underwear got wet" and ask for another pair, or sometimes saying it's not too bad, it will dry, or in the case of the bowel incontinence when he does a whole bowel movement in his undershorts, he seems to to be aware, as if he can't even feel it. I would appreciate suggestions from others who are dealing with this. Thank you.

Jeanne C.

Hi, if it's a sudden change, I would check for a UTI.

More likely, it's progression. Sorry. If you haven't already, it's time to switch him to incontinence briefs. You're also going to want to do the bed - a good mattress protector, underpads, etc. I do a couple of layers incase the bed gets wet at night, so I can just remove a layer and let him get back to sleep.

You can reduce instances of incontinence by prompting him to use the bathroom every couple of hours.

Honestly, this is my biggest caregiving challenge. But I get through it, just like we all do with everything else. Hang in there.

​fesk

Any new medications it could be a side effect of? I agree to check for UTI or other medical issues. Rule those out. For the bowel incontinence, check to see if it's related to any consistent food/drink.

terei

Replace all his underwear with disposables + have him checked for medical issues, but I fear it is just the progression of the disease

SDianeL

There is also a search function for this forum if you want to find other posts about incontinence. Look at the top right of the page. Also the book “The 36 Hour Day” helped me after my husbands diagnosis.

charley0419

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220292#Comment_220292

I agree my biggest concern moving forward