I may have to be the sole caregiver for my Mom, who is 82 and bedridden in a nursing home since January 2020. Our family is hoping to bring Mom home soon.
Since I am her son, I (and my Mom) face the distressing reality that I will need to clean/toilet her as well as change her clothes and shower her (she is completely incontinent (both #1 and #2) and wears Huggies). Is there any tech solution or other ways that would eliminate my having to see Mom's private parts when doing these two daily tasks?
Does anyone have experience with using a bidet that can clean Mom's genital and anal areas (ideally a bidet that can do both simultaneously) and then perhaps air dry with a blower that is built into the bidet? I think I can do everything necessary to take care of Mom at home but unless I find a solution to this distressing issue I don't know if I will be able to take care of her.
Any other men out there who have to toilet, shower and change Mom's clothing in their role as caregiver of Mom at home? Needing help greatly on this issue.
Thanks,
Clemente
I needed that today - thank you.
it’s a busy day here so I will add more later. My best purchase has been the liberator medical Purewick - please google this. It has saved moms skin from and collect 95% of the urine. Surrounding you in support and blessings
Yes, I have heard recently about Purewick and its something family may use for Mom. The hospital she was in did use a similar device, and that's what began to show me to reach out to those in the know who have already done homecare rather than reinvent the wheel and assume no such device exists for taking care of #2---to date, no one on this forum has indicated such a device exists either for homecare or in more specialized settings like Nursing Homes and Hospitals. But I am sure someone will eventually invent such a device and free millions of caregivers and their clients/patients from the daily burden of this task.
I see a lot of people saying they don't understand why you would want to bring your mom home. But I understand. People do much better at home. Plus, who can afford to pay for a family member to live in a nursing home. Most of them are $2000 to $5000 a month. I certainly don't have money like that.
As for showering, if she is bedridden, you will probably need hospice to come to your home once a week to help you with that. They will know what to do.
As for seeing your mom's private parts, that is something you are going to have to get used to. She's your mom and you are doing this out of love. When it comes to caring someone you love you just do what you must do.
Some people say that you are not responsible for caring for her and you shouldn't have to give up your life. While legally you are not required to care for her - she is your mom and I personally feel we do have a responsibilty for doing what is right - which may mean you care for her. As far as giving up your life. I feel that caring for a loved one enhances your life and teaches you about patience and love like nothing else can. Plus, it is your decision to make. If you feel that caring for your mom is the right thing to do, than that is what you should do.
It will be tough, but I think you can do this.
Check this website out. It will be helpful.
https://training.mmlearn.org/blog/peri-care-what-every-caregiver-needs-to-know
Something is way out of kilter here, and each person will have to make hard decisions on which way to track. I understand the problems on both sides of the coin, and wish only the best for the direction each person heads, care at home or care in long term facilities.
Thanks for the link, I will check it out.
an agency that will show how she can qualify. They found a way for my
wife to get benefits after I thought their was no way she could qualify because
of income limitations. They now give me support so That I can keep her living
with me. It is not easy but it can be done. You must be willing to spend the
time and effort.
my father actually cleaned his MIL many times when she was in this situation. She was horrified but he assured her that he considered her his mother and it HAD to be done. also KNEW she would do the same for him were the situation reversed (she would have). I had to clean her a few times too.
vicks salve under your nose, a mask, plastic gloves (a must).
There are YouTube videos showing how to do a bed bath. Im sure cleaning the bottom is shown as well. Protecting her modesty of the rest of her body (w a towel, sheets) when doing this is helpful too.
The Elder Care organization should be able to help set up the bed & bathroom appropriately, so both areas can be safe.
Such as a grab bar attached to the bed, (a board and grab bar, where the board is under the mattress;) a STRONG commode by the bed & perhaps a walker to help with the transition; also, grab bars in the bathroom with a seat in the shower & a regular commode over the toilet to make it higher and easier to get up.
I am sure it is awkward for a son to do this for a Mom. (I would be totally uncomfortable doing it for my Dad.) I took care of my Mom, so that part was easier but it was uncomfortable for my Mom to have me assist her in this fashion... we do what we need to do. I tried my best to make her last years easy & enjoyable as best as possible...I know Mom appreciated what I did and she would often let me know how relieved and happy she was to have me be there for her.
Please, don't get frustrated...if she becomes frustrated, remember, It is hard on her too.
I hope some of my suggestions were helpful!
If you want more suggestions, I would gladly add more. Or, feel free to send me a note.
One last thing we used https://www.hdis.com/
Adult diapers, (maybe with an additional pad in them) and put mattress pads on the bed with the sticky strips to prevent them from moving is important to have also. (We had two under the fitted sheet, just in case, and on top of the fitted sheet.)
Okay, good luck.
There is no way a person can wipe an ass and change a diaper without seeing someone's private parts. I'm going to tell you straight having been an in-home caregiver to elderly and handicapped for almost 25 years.
You have to get over any embarrassment or shame quick when it comes to hygiene care. It's absolutely disgusting to change an elderly person's diaper and give them a shower or bath. I won't lie and tell you it's a rewarding experience or do anything. It likely will be the most disgusting thing you've ever had to do. It is not like doing for a baby either. Some people cannot do this type of work and that's nothing to be ashamed of. If you're not able then leave your mom in the nursing home.
As for changing a soiled diaper. Don't try to bring her into the bathroom and change it on the toilet. That will not go well for either one of you. The easiest way to change a diaper is to change the person laying flat on their bed (you will need a hospital bed for her to be living at home). Fill a basin with warm, soapy water and a couple wash cloths. Unfasten the diaper on both sides. Slide the tabs under her far as you can. Then turn her on her side and pull the diaper out. While she's on her side wash her up and dry her with a towel or paper towels. Don't go trying to use a hairdryer or do anything like that. If she only pees herself, she can be cleaned up with baby wipes. Good luck to you.
need to do diapers most of the time. I also found a camera that I could watch over my dad mounted in his room was helpful in case he awoke and was in some kind of distress I would
know right away.
If it is you/wife/kids - are they all on board to assist w/round the clock care? If it is your siblings having this discussion, you all definitely need to figure out just how the round the clock care will work. Can you use funds currently paying for NH to hire some help? If the funds have run out, you can apply for Medicaid bed to keep her in the NH. If everyone wants her home and she's bedridden, I suggest you get everyone to commit what help they will provide and/or how care will be paid for.
It's not impossible for a man or anyone to help a woman with tasks you mentioned. The best source is where she is right now. Have the staff show you how to do it - they have pretty good ideas/methods to make the job easier because they do it every day. Start planning on your household set up to make it easy for caregivers: Porta pot by the bed, remodel shower to accommodate a wheelchair, shower chair, replace a regular bed with a hospital type bed, etc. Look at the bed she has at NH and measure the height from floor. You have to find something similar. If she moves at all, handrails. If it's possible, they have toilets that flush out the backside that can be hooked onto your sewer line - you don't have to drill holes in floor - just an exit hole in wall behind toilet. It can be right next to the bed so you can flush/use bidet instead and cleaning out a potty chair all day long.
If you end up doing this caretaking thing, I strongly suggest you pay for whatever help the family can afford. You're going to need it. If some family is trying to save mom's money for inheritance, just let them know that ship has sailed. Her money for her care.
Here's the word "Compartmentalization". Yes she is your MOTHER!, she is your MOM!. Certain tasks may be easier if you forget that for the time to complete the task. These are body parts that brought you into the world (unless you are a C-section baby). Not many of us want to be that real as to "see" where we came from. Nudity is NOT the same as sexuality and you don't really have to experience her nudity. Bathing is done in stages with the body covered except the part you are cleaning. There was help with both Mom and Dad so I had a chance to learn from experienced caregivers.
Welcome to a new world. Did you know that there are youtubes for this? CNA certification has videos on youtube for how to do almost everything you will need to do, bed baths, feeding, transfer from bed to wheel chair,, on and on. In fact, I highly recommend that you look to see if there are any CNA courses offered in your area that you could take. There is really no sense in reinventing the wheel. From the videos and especially from a class you will learn precisely what you are getting into and how to avoid injury to yourself as well as to your mother AND if you decide to hire some help, you will be able to KNOW if they are doing the job correctly. Here is a starting point. You may need to copy/paste the links into your browser. Once in the correct part of youtube, look around at what is available. THIS IS AN ART FORM!! and yes I was shouting. Very few recognize that elder care is an art and a craft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQtjY3-bcE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfFdgch968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAk9ppD-KZk
1. I have to ask why do you want to bring mom home? This can be a daunting task for you particularly if you have no help. You will need help.
Is your mom eligible for Hospice? If so you would get the equipment that you need to care for her properly and safely. The staff would also educate you in how to use the equipment as well as how to care for her to minimize skin breakdown.
Caring for someone who is bedridden is very hard. The simple answer to your question about bathing and diaper changes and your "view" is there is no way to care for her and "not see". After MIL had a major stroke that left her paralyzed in her right side, unable to communicate except for yes or no, unable to chew food that wasn't pureed, but was thankfully able to swallow, it took my husband and I to change his mom so she wouldn't be harmed. Sponge bath every morning, new gown, new sheets, hair brushed, mouth cleaned with dental swabs, using baby aquaphor with diaper changes as a proactive measure to help avoid diaper rash, moving her arms and legs around to help her feel more comfortable and not stiff, shifting her position in bed to avoid bed sores, etc. She was in this situation for 2 weeks before having another massive stroke and passing. My heart broke for her because she knew what she wanted to say but was trapped in her head. She had been living with us for almost 2 years on hospice care when this happened and I thank God every day for her team. Instead of 2x a week cna, she came 3x a week, nurse visits became daily because of her condition, she was having TIAs throughout the 2 weeks, and they taught me many ways to help her. You said your mom is bedridden is she able to eat or does she need a feeding tube? If she has a tube that is something else you will need to take care of very carefully so it stays clean. Think about bringing her home very carefully because her care will be very time consuming and very physical. There is no way I could've done any of this for my MIL without my husband's physical help and her team giving me great advice. Water with a medicine syringe, how to use the draw sheet to make things easier on her. Talking to hospice now if you are going to be bringing her back home with you would be a good idea, they can do the intake from the nursing home your mom is in now and make sure that you are set up and ready at your home for mom, hospital bed, wheelchair if needed, initial supplies etc. I would also make sure to have multiple sets of twin sheets for her bed on hand, at least 3 or 4 sets for daily changes and accident coverage, also soft, cozy warm blankets for her. Your washer and dryer will be working overtime. Sheets, towels, wash rags, clothing. Is she ble to sit in an upright position? If so, button down the front pjs, shirts and sweaters would be your best option. Please don't walk into this blindly, do research on line, there are many good articles and videos out there to help you and your family understand the huge responsibility you are taking on.
One last thing for you to consider is this, you will be told other family members will be there to assist you and give you a break, don't count on it and don't depend on them following thru. We learned the hard way, excuses why it wasn't convenient for them. I wish you luck and hope any decisions made will be for mom's care and wellbeing, along with your own. Do NOT flush wipes even if the package says they're flushable, they can clog pipes and will mess up your septic system. Waste water treatment plants are also having issues with them clogging up their lines and pumps, they do not decompose like toilet paper.
I am a male and I have cared for my mother for almost 8 years now. My mother is incontinent and me, my wife, and a couple of paid helpers change her diapers throughout the day. My mother is not bed ridden but does have very limited mobility, and requires assistance to get into and out of bed, showering, spoon feeding, etc. My mother weighs 125 lbs. now but when I started to care for her she weighed 145 lbs. Before I can go into depths about how to care for your mother from my years of experience, I need to know how much your mother weighs, if you work or not outside the home, and who your mother will be staying with when you refer to "home".
It was a real blessing to have that service.
You have to get used to it because your mom cannot do things we all take for granted, and the number one reason why people are institutionalized is due to inability to cope with cleaning bowel movements (BM)--much less induce them. If my mom did not have a BM in 4 days she would get impacted which means the stool would get very large and hard and cannot be passed. This would require an emergency room visit to get her bowels moving again, and it would be a terrible mess. So I had to put my mom on a bowel program which lactulose worked very well (she had kidney disease so I could not use milk of magnesia or any kind of phosphate type of laxative). Lactulose is very kidney friendly. Mom had a bowel movement every Tues, Thursdays and Sundays.
You should have been given some teaching on how to do hygienic care. If your mom is bed ridden you will have to do bed baths, and you will also have to prevent skin breakdown, which means specialty mattresses and turning her every two hours.
You cannot shower a bedridden person.
READ THIS AND READ IT WELL: You also CANNOT get sick because a bedridden person will 100% depend on you for your survival.
PS Look at how the Hospice person bathes your mom and follow the same. Your mom will continue to refuse and you will continue to comfort her and tell her "Mom I have to and there is no one here to help us". She will not like you bathing her but once you do it by the second time, you will actually not mind doing it. It will come natural to you. Think of her as a baby that needs helps. Hope this helps.
1. If you have no experience, you will need professional assistance to care for your mother, especially in caring for someone who is dependent and bed bound. You should call home care service agencies to find out what services they provide and what the cost is. Then you can see if you can afford it. If your mother is on Medicaid, you can see if she is eligible for home care and how much. If professional aides are contracted to help your mother, you can learn from them how to assist your mother. DO NOT do this unprepared as you will quickly be overwhelmed and it will likely be very unsafe for your mother (and possibly yourself), increasing her risk of bed sores, infection and possible injury. You may find that her staying in the nursing home is the most realistic avenue for her care. Make informed decisions and know what your options are.
2. Not all people are cut out to be the caregivers of their parents. Some sons are able to provide the kind of care she would need, and some, like yourself, are uncomfortable with it. If that's the case, you might want to look into alternatives. To truly provide the necessary care in toileting, bathing and cleaning, you will see everything. A bed bound person will most likely not be getting on a toilet unless they are high level and can stand and walk. But then they are not truly bed-bound. So forget the bidet.
Your question is understandable, but it also reveals that you are not knowledgeable in how to care for a dependent bed-bound person. This is not your fault. As with anything, one needs to be taught. Don't assume it's like caring for a relatively healthy mobile adult. There's a lot to know.
Good luck with this. We are all glad you reached out with your question. Take care.
Now to the spirit: what got me through dealing with caring for my mom in such an intimate way was realizing that now I was caring for her just as she had cared for me. As for private parts I always tried to be conscious of her modesty but on those times when that was unavoidable I remembered that not only had she and I been one body, this was my gateway to life itself. She was to be honored in any way I could help her and comfort her. I came to this acceptance—and this was really important—through prayer. At the start I felt as you (which is entirely natural) and prayed for the strength to do what was necessary. That strength came and with it a new and deep and living connection with my mother; one that put to rest years of strained relations and gave me a wonderful gift after her passing.
May God bless and protect you and give you strength in gifting back to your mom the care she gave to you.
i despise nursing homes !!
horrible hell my poor mom endured
have her home snd safe with mr
she has dementia, And is incontinent , but you can get aides To come in to help, I get 10 hours daily so I can work ,
and at night to help clean and get to toilet bed !
mom is SAFE
i had a lot of people say to us
don’t take her out of the home , your crazy ,
it’s too much work
blah blsh
its not their mom , suffering ,
lonely, depressed in a non caring hellhole !! Get her out !!
trust me,
those people do not test her good!!!
mY mom is happy laughing
sleeps well,
etc snd is safe !
yes it
Gets trying at times, but ever time I say , ugh...
i
stop pray and say my mom is safe
and in a loving home !!
get her home and you will figure it out
i just got mine out on Nov 2nd
so glad
Thxs
Melinda