I know he is afraid of falling or slipping in shower. He has fallen in the past and thank God all he got was a few scrape and bruises. We have installed hand rails, put non slip in shower, got him a shower chair, even installed hand held shower nozzle with easy on and off and still he refuses to shower. We have assured him it's safe and that we will help him or be on stand by if he needs help. My Dad is fighting with dementia we all see him declining. I have moved in with him and have full family support with his care we just can't get him to shower. We have all explained the need to clean our bodies & why we have to do it. Dad has always been a clean well groomed man and his pride has always been over the top which has caused some issues but not anything we couldn't handle. I forgot to mention also he will not go to the doctors either so if he did have a UTI we wouldn't know till he was to sick to refuse to go in emergency. So any suggestions on the bathing situation??
High n Dry
IN So Cal
The water shoes NeedHelpWithMom is referencing I purchased on Amazon.com. Just search men's water shoes. My mother hadn't fallen for about a year after I ordered her a pair, but had an incident just last week in spite of her shower looking like a literal fortress and having a caregiver in the bathroom with her. She lost her balance 3x and reinforcements had to be called in to keep her safe. Soon she'll have to be moved to a nursing home where she can be wheeled into the shower in her wheelchair without having to move.
Watch Teepa Snow videos on YouTube discussing techniques to help demented elders feel safe and protected in the shower. She's very good.
Good luck
Thank goodness that you did not try to care for your mom in her home or your home.
You could have never handled so many falls on your own. Plus, your mom has many other issues that would make it impossible to do home caregiving.
It is very wise to place a parent in either assisted living or a nursing home.
When I was touring facilities, the staff told me that they advised placement to be done before it was needed. That way the resident would have time to adjust before it became necessary. I agree with this advice.
You will spot immediately that the key difference is that all family members stay RIGHT out of it!
The caregiver used what was called a "therapeutic fib" which she found worked in her many years of experience as a professional caregiver. Oh, she never had a houseful of boys :)
She bought water shoes for her mom.
Maybe this could work for your dad. It’s worth a try.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-help-with-bathing-and-personal-hygiene-top-tips-from-caregivers-212010.htm