What Should Your Process Be for Bathing Your Senior?

When it’s time to bathe your senior family member, you need to know what your process is. That helps to keep you on track and ensures that you don’t miss anything important.

Homecare in Herndon VA: Senior Bathing Tips

Pay Attention to Water and Room Temperatures

Water temperature is really important, of course, but it’s easy to get the water too hot by accident. Test the water yourself to make sure it’s comfortable before you even get your senior in the room. In terms of the room itself, using a space heater to gently warm the room can help your senior to feel more comfortable, especially if she’s sensitive to the cold. Keep in mind that it’s difficult to get naked in front of family members, but if you’re cold and uncomfortable, it’s even more difficult.

Prepare Everything in Advance

If you can, make sure that you prepare everything for your senior’s bath before you go to get her. This helps to ensure that she doesn’t have to wait for you to do anything. You also get a chance without any pressure to check and double check that you have everything that you need for the bath. If you don’t, you’re not leaving your senior in a vulnerable position while you track down missing items you need to finish the bath.

Wash and Rinse from the Top Down

Once you’re ready to begin actually bathing and shampooing your senior, it’s helpful to have a process in mind. Start at the top of her head and work your way down. This ensures that you don’t miss any areas and that you’re not rinsing dirty soap and water down a part of your senior’s body that you’ve already washed. Rinse with warm water that is the same temperature as the bath water.

Pat Your Senior’s Skin Dry Gently

After the bath, gently pat your senior’s skin dry. You don’t want to rub with the towel as that can irritate her skin and even cause bruising if her skin is especially fragile. Choose soft, absorbent towels that are comfortable for your senior. Make sure that her skin is thoroughly dry before you help her to get dressed.

If your senior has any other special considerations, such as skin conditions, talk with her doctor about the best ways to handle those situations. For some aging adults, bathing with family members is really embarrassing. It might be a good idea to try hiring elder care providers for bathing to see how that goes for her.

Are you or a loved-one considering Homecare in Herndon, VA?  Please call the caring staff at Medical Professionals On Call today. Contact: 703-273-8818

• Author
• Recent Posts

Michelle DeFilippis

I graduated with a BS degree and had been selling medical equipment to hospitals, clinics and technicians. More recently, a family member was diagnosed with dementia and we, as a family, realized we were not prepared t care for her. We were thrown into that whirlpool of hospital stays, 24/7 live-in care, skilled care, caring for mom ourselves and finally, now daily home care. This was such a stressful time that I started thinking there had to be other people, other families as overwhelmed and unprepared as we were.

Medical Professionals On Call has such a caring, professional staff who are available to step in with whatever level of care necessary for loved ones and to relieve you of that stress.

Latest posts by Michelle DeFilippis (see all)

• Do Your Parents Face More Challenges When They Live in a Rural Community? - November 6, 2019
• Ways to Ease Arthritis Symptoms in the Elderly - October 24, 2019
• Tips for a Better Life with Fibromyalgia - October 9, 2019