One of the areas that are hardest for a family caregiver is personal care. It’s often uncomfortable helping your parents with hygiene and grooming. Here are five tips that help make personal care tasks a little easier to manage.
Create a Routine
Turn the care tasks into a routine that becomes familiar and part of the day. Stick to the schedule as much as possible. Your mom gets up and uses the toilet. Feed her breakfast, have her take her medications, and head for the bathroom. She can shower, get her teeth brushed, and get dressed. If you always start the day like that, both of you will be used to it.
Buy Products That Simplify the Tasks
Buy things that make it easier to get each personal care task done. A power toothbrush with a small head, such as one of Oral-B’s Pro models, helps. A water flosser does the job without needing to reach your fingers into your mom’s mouth.
In the shower, a shower seat enables your mom to sit without you having to support her weight. Wrap her in a towel for warmth and wash one area at a time. A soft brush or shower poof at the end of the handle makes it easy to wash delicate areas while allowing some distance between your hand and her body.
A daily bath or shower isn’t needed. It can actually dry the skin. Instead, invest in a high-quality dry shampoo and leave-in conditioner. Baby wipes can help quickly wipe down the skin that gets a little sweatier between showers.
Talk Openly About Everything You Do
Before you start helping with any personal care task, make sure you tell your mom what you’re about to do. If she knows it’s about to happen, she may be less agitated. It will make it easier for both of you.
Think of The Care Tasks as They Are
Part of the difficulty of helping with personal care is the level of embarrassment at seeing your mom in a vulnerable state. If you can think of personal care, grooming, and hygiene as necessary tasks to prevent health issues, it may be easier.
Bathing your mom helps prevent skin infections. Helping her with toileting prevents skin rashes and UTIs. Brushing and flossing her teeth for her lowers the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. Trimming nails helps your mom avoid foot pain and ingrown nails.
Have a Professional Help
If you still struggle, why not hire a caregiver for personal care, grooming, and hygiene tasks? You could have senior care services come each day to handle those tasks while you take care of other chores. It may be the best option for both you and your mom. Call a senior care agency to learn more about prices and schedules.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Homecare in San Jose, CA, contact the friendly staff at Home Care Professionals today.
Call (866)-940-4855
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