When Mom Won’t Shower or Take Care of Herself: How Elder Care near Santa Monica CA Can Help

It is more common than most people realize for elders who once prided themselves on cleanliness to refuse to shower or wear clean clothes. There are various reasons to consider when providing elder care to a loved one who refuses to keep up with their own personal hygiene. Through the right attitude of elder care, you can help your loved one overcome the cleanliness issue.

Depression can be a reason your parent no longer takes interest in staying clean or changing into fresh clothes. This should be the first consideration to look into when providing home care for the elderly. If you loved one just doesn’t seem to care about anything at all and their energy is low, contact the doctor to schedule a checkup.

Another factor to consider is control. As your parent ages, they feel less and less control over their life. One thing they can control, however, is when to shower and change their clothes. The more you get on their case about cleanliness, the more they tend to resist.

A third thing to consider is the fact that the elderly have a decreased sense of smell and sight. Their senses aren’t as acute as they once were so they don’t even notice or smell what we do.

Memory can also be a factor. The days are no longer filled with the activities as when they were younger. As far as they are concerned, there often isn’t anything to distinguish one day from the next. They easily lose track of time and don’t even realize how long it has been since they last showered.

For some seniors, fear and discomfort can deter them from bathing. Fear of slipping and falling or feeling discomfort when they try to get in and out of the tub are legitimate reasons in their mind. Patients with Alzheimer’s or Dementia may not understand why water is running or what you are trying to do to them.

There are certain methods of trickery that elder care can use to get a loved one to shower:

• Have a friend of the elder call up and invite them to lunch. Having a reason to get cleaned up for someone other than family can get them to take an interest in their personal hygiene.
• If the elder is afraid of the water, consider getting a shower chair and a hand held shower head. It is less frightening if water isn’t pouring over their head.
• You may have to lower your standards a bit and accept that the elder is in a different mode than when they were younger. Do your best to make them look presentable and understand that constant nagging is not going to help the situation.

The approach that elder care uses when trying to get a parent to realize they need to shower and change their clothes can make all the difference. It is going to require an attitude of love and patience.

There’s no one answer to the question of when the time is right for in-home care.

However, if you consider the points raise here today, you’ll have a better idea of when it’s time for in-home care.

And, if you have any follow-up questions, please contact us (310) 400-6869…we are always here to assist…You are Important to Us!

We pride ourselves in the Best In-Home Care!

Caregiving for You, Inc.