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Showers Handy for Sandwich Generation
Showers. Long, hot, cleansing showers. They are a great way to wake up in the morning, aren’t they? As a member of the Sandwich Generation, constantly busy caring for elderly parents and babysitting grandchildren, showers are my favorite places to pray as well.
Showers Can Be Hard For Elderly Parents
Sometimes, though, showers aren’t much fun! If you are caring for an elderly parent or other 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 Caregivers Alzheimers. It reminded me of when we went through a hospice services program with my sweet dad and learned about some great bathing helps like No Rinse shampoo and No Rinse body bath and body wash.
I later used those when I was on bed rest with a severe broken left ankle. If it hadn’t been for the nurses with the hospice services program, 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 🙂 .
No Rinse Shampoo and Body Bath
Wondering where buy no rinse shampoo? Amazon carries these products and being able to have them shipped straight to your house is a big help when you are extra busy caring for a bedridden elderly parent! Amazon also carries the No Rinse Moisturizing Body Wash, and No Rinse Body Bath with an odor eliminator. If you have the Amazon Prime Discount Membership, you can get these in two days with free shipping. Very handy for busy caregivers! We have also ordered them directly from Walmart and from Walgreens pharmacy department and both were able to get them in quickly each time we ordered.
When using the No Rinse shampoo, 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 No Rinse body wash, you mix a small amount with a container of water, use a sponge or washcloth and wash the patient’s body. No rinsing is required. You just dry and they are feeling clean and comfortable with much less effort required than a normal bath or shower.
Big Helps for Sandwich Generation
Bathing our loved ones will never be easy, but great products like No Rinse Shampoo and Body Bath do make things much less difficult for those of us in the Sandwich Generation caring for our elderly parents!
P.S. These also make great gifts for our elderly parents who don’t live with us! 🙂
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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
is there really a seat that you can use in a clawfoot bathtub?
Hi Dawn, I found the Etac Fresh Bathtub Transfer Board at Amazon. They are currently out of stock, but it might be worth looking for at a local medical supply store. If they can’t find that one, they may have other suggestions for you. Plus buying it locally should give you the ability to exchange or return any option you try if they don’t work. We had to do that with a couple we tried that didn’t work well for my senior mom. Here is the review from Amazon, “I got this bench for my 90 yr. old Mom after being hospitalized for a fall. She has an old high-sided claw-foot tub and I could not find a chair-type bath transfer seat that would fit. This goes across the top rim of the tub.Standing with your back towards the side edge of the tub you can sit onto the seat before raising your legs over the high sides of the tub.There is no balancing on one foot while lifting the other. She can then center herself and sit for a shower/bath with a hand-held shower hose. The bench works very well for her. It seems sturdy & safe; easy to assemble & adjust;easy to clean. It makes it much easier to bathe not having to raise or lower yourself into/out of the tub.”