Senior Care Challenges: Preserving Modesty When Bathing Seniors

Senior Care in Weston, MA – A Few Tips for Helping Your Elderly Loved One Feel Comfortable Receiving Assistance Bathing

When planning senior care for your aging parents, one of the most important things you must consider is their comfort. Whether your loved one needs senior care services in their home 24 hours a day or for just a few hours a week to help them handle routine needs and provide companionship, keeping their emotional needs and personal boundaries in mind helps ease anxiety so they can make the most of their care.

One of the greatest challenges for many elderly adults receiving assistance from a non-medical home care provider for the first time is accepting help bathing. Many seniors cope with physical and cognitive challenges that make it difficult to bathe independently, but they are often resistant to allowing someone else help them with this very personal activity. Some aging adults prefer for their adult children to help them bathe, but if you are not comfortable with this, or do not have the physical ability to help them, you can make the process less stressful by working with their non-medical home care provider to preserve modesty during the bath.

Before your parents get their first bath from the non-medical home care provider, take some time to talk with them about their concerns and explain what to expect. Let them know that the non-medical home care provider is a professional and has done this before. This often helps seniors feel more at ease. You can also use these tips to help your parents get used to the non-medical home care provider helping them bathe, which may eventually lead to them being comfortable enough to bathe more openly.

• Use a small heater to warm the bathroom and make the transition from warm water to cold air less stressful. Being physically comfortable eases anxiety and makes aging adults more relaxed
• Use a shower stool or bath bench to provide support and minimize the need for the non-medical home care provider to physically support your parent. This makes him feel more in control and safer
• Encourage the non-medical home care provider to use familiar bath products and tools. For example, if your mother prefers a soft pouf to a washcloth, make sure they know this
• Rather than having your parents remove all of their clothing for the bath, have them wear a bathrobe or even loose clothing. This way they can expose one body part at a time to be washed and remain mostly covered
• Use a handheld shower head for easier access to the entire body. This can even encourage your parents to wash sensitive parts of their bodies themselves and just have the caregiver make sure they rinse thoroughly
• Have everything needed for after the bath in place beforehand. This makes drying off and dressing faster, and lets your parents stay covered with towels as they are dressing

Bathing does not have to be a stressful part of caring for your elderly loved one. Staying aware of their feelings and taking a few extra steps to keep them comfortable makes it possible for them to enjoy bathing again, either with you or a non-medical home care provider.