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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
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V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
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I second a bidet toilet seat attachment - google them if you haven't seen one (I'd opt for a warm water one if possible). You really can't expect to change a lifelong habit such as the method someone wipes, and if the problem is that she is having difficulty due to arthritic fingers, wrist or arm then you can't really change that either.
CW, I too have read about the plumbing problems flushable wipes will cause. And not just the house system either. They wreak havoc on sewers, septics and the sewage plant.
My mom also seemed prone to UTI's. After seven infections in nine months she saw a urologist/gynecologist that it her on prophylactic antibiotic and other meds. It did solve the problem. You might want to try cranberry supplements to see if that would help.
After a bm and she has done her version of dry wiping: hand her a disposable wipe with an extra spritz of perineal no rinse liquid, follow up that with you giving her an additional wipe then a brief warm sitz bath. Empty the basin, close the lid. Put a paper towel covered with a disposable wipe on the lid. Have her sit down and wash her face, hands, arm pits. Have her stand up, and you peel off the soiled disposable wipe & paper towel from her backside. Check her hands and fingernails for feces.
Sometimes it’s not all because of poor hygiene. My mother was predisposed to infections and wound up being tested monthly because she became combative. But, having said that, a nurse at the ER did tell me she wasn’t as clean as she should be “down there”. Her aides had her use a site bath. If it would be safe for your mom, maybe a soak in the tub? And, if she wears panty liners, those too can contribute to infections if. Otnchanged during the day.
Hygiene is not usually the culprit, think about how often baby girls sit in feces in their diapers without getting an infection. Ecoli is always in the area. Keeping the bladder flushed with adequate fluid intake will help. Hormonal changes in the area make the tissues more susceptible to irritation and infection. Getting old is no picnic.
More than likely it is not emptying bladder all the way, instead of hygiene, causing the UTI's. When she is on the toilet, see if you can get her to lean all the way over like trying to touch her fingers to floor because it can help to drain more out of the bladder.
You might take her to a urinary doctor. They have medicines that enlarge the tube that leaves bladder to help remedy the problem. My mom has not had a UTI in well over a year after starting med (tamsulosin sp?) and she had been having them 10-12 times a year.
I nth the recommendation for a bidet. We have had them for 20 years. America has gone from a country that laughs at the idea to widely accepting them.
You can get cheap ones for $20-$30 that do the job. For someone less capable, it may be worth it to get a good Japanese one. Those things are amazing. They are quite literally butt cleaning robots. Some even will wipe down the seat. You sit and do your thing. The robot will wash and dry you. You stand back up and get on with your day. For a woman they can clean both the front and the back.
Other than wiping front to back there is little to say, but do know that most UTIs in elderly women come of the fact that the tissue of the urethra thins remarkably after menopause and given that the urethra in the female is very short, bacteria have easy entry. I swear by D Mannose powder or capsules and as an RN I am not usually a believer in any supplements. It works much like cranberry but is easy to take and not acidic, keeps bacteria from adhereing to the bladder wall. I used to get upwards of 4 a year, bladder infections, and now for more than a decade using one d-mannose capsule a day I have not had ONE. I have told one person on forum whose Mom having good results and several people in my daily life with same results, so I now swear by this stuff. At 30.00 for 120 capsules it is certainly worth a try. The capsules are large, can be broken and put in a drink; do not have much taste at all. I got mine on Amazon and use a company called "Source Natural" but I would imagine they may be much the same from anyone. I just never changed what "works for me".
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
You really can't expect to change a lifelong habit such as the method someone wipes, and if the problem is that she is having difficulty due to arthritic fingers, wrist or arm then you can't really change that either.
My mom also seemed prone to UTI's. After seven infections in nine months she saw a urologist/gynecologist that it her on prophylactic antibiotic and other meds. It did solve the problem. You might want to try cranberry supplements to see if that would help.
You might take her to a urinary doctor. They have medicines that enlarge the tube that leaves bladder to help remedy the problem. My mom has not had a UTI in well over a year after starting med (tamsulosin sp?) and she had been having them 10-12 times a year.
You can get cheap ones for $20-$30 that do the job. For someone less capable, it may be worth it to get a good Japanese one. Those things are amazing. They are quite literally butt cleaning robots. Some even will wipe down the seat. You sit and do your thing. The robot will wash and dry you. You stand back up and get on with your day. For a woman they can clean both the front and the back.
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