Showers. Long, hot, cleansing showers. They are a great way to wake up in the morning, aren’t they? Well, normally yes. But if you are caring for a loved one who can’t take a regular shower or bath easily, it can be something very difficult.
I was reading an interesting blog this week written by a woman caring for her mother who has Alzheimer’s Disease. I really appreciated what she shared at http://caregiveralzheimers.blogspot.com/2008/10/role-reversal.html . It reminded me of when we went through hospice with my sweet dad and learned about some great bathing helps. I later used those when I was on bed rest with a broken ankle. If it hadn’t been for the nurses with hospice, I never would have known these products existed. I wrote to share them with her in case she didn’t know about them. Then I realized I should share them with you as well 
.
There are actually a few different products available. The ones we use are No Rinse Shampoo and No Rinse Body Bath by CleanLife Products. You can purchase them from drug stores or online at Amazon. We were delighted to discover that we could even call or go to the pharmacies in Wal-Mart or Target, order them, and they usually arrive in the store a day or two later. Those two stores usually offer the best prices (around $5 for a 16 ounce bottle though that amount is certainly subject to change any second in this economy) and there are no shipping charges. Now that’s definitely a great frugal tip for caregivers!
When using the shampoo, you just pour some on the patient’s hair, gently massage their hair well to suds it up, then dry it with a towel. For the body wash, you mix a small amount with a container of water, use a sponge or washcloth and wash the patient’s body. Then just dry and they are feeling clean and comfortable with much less effort required than a normal bath or shower.
Bathing our loved ones will never be easy, but these products do make it less difficult.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good tips. I used several types of no rinse/cry shampoos with my mom–who had Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s–and bathing was such a big chore. Sometimes bathing created a sweet moment–an intimacy between my mom and I that I’ll always cherish. Other times, it was very very difficult–Alzheimer’s is a relentless disease with many tricks up its sleeve. Still, we loved, laughed, cried, and made our way through.
I hope you’ll check out my blog–I write about all kinds of caregiving issues.
Nice to meet you—
Carol O’Dell
Author of Mothering Mother; A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir, available on Amazon
http://www.mothering-mother.com (blog is listed there)
BTW, LOVE the monkey picture:)
~Carol O’Dell
Hi Carol, Thanks for visiting this site and the great comments. I did, indeed, look at your site. It’s great! An excellent resource, particularly for those with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease!
Kaye
Kaye’s last blog post..Caregivers – How to Save Time and Money Cooking
P.S. Re. the monkey – I love it too! It is the perfect picture of a caregiver and so totally cute as well!!!
Thank you!
Kaye
Kaye’s last blog post..Caregivers – How to Save Time and Money Cooking