How can I help my disabled elderly relative with his messy toileting issues?
My elderly relative has very limited use of his fingers and hand on the right side. He stands at the toilet to urinate and sprays over the rim and along the toilet base. I am trying to figure out how to address this reoccurring mess. I taped disposable bedpads, first as cutouts, around the toilet base, then I made slings from the toilet to the walls to catch the dribble and spray. Since he uses a walker, both ideas did not work out; the pads got twisted up into a big mess in no time. He prefers to stand, however unsteadily, from habit and because sitting and rising are difficult, although there is a tall toilet in the bathroom. The caulk has finally shriveled up around the base of the stained toilet floor; it is an ongoing mess. We clean with bleach water weekly, down from scrubbing every 2 or 3 days initially. Are there any suggestions or should I just accept the mess and live with it. He cannot see what is happening and he is deaf. My husband is reluctant to embarrass the old fellow by trying to show him what is happening. How do nursing homes handle such a situation.
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Any ideas out there?
Carol
we have a handicap toilet which is higher than reg toilet and a grab bar in front of dad , makes it easier for him to pull himself up offthe toilet when hes done , makes my job easier too .
if he was on the reg low toilet believe me i would never beable to get him up .
dad did refuse to sit but i had to force him to sit , told him pee poo everywhere no no no . so he accept it .
wish you luck ,,
Sometimes, she doesn't know where the toilet is. Sometimes, she doesn't know how to use the toilet. We've just had to pull her pants down and get her on the toilet--but we don't pull them down until we are close to the toilet or else she would let loose.
How would you like poop sliding down the toilet and onto the floor and in her shoes and all over her clothes? Not fun to clean up, but that's one thing to expect. Sometimes, she doesn't make it to the toilet before she urinates. I've been doing laundry daily now since May 2009. Good luck!
Our solution was to put a towel on the floor. It saves daily cleaning on our hands and knees...and it's much easier to wash the towels. Now, instead of cleaning the floor daily, we bleach it once a week. The towels seem to do the trick.
As far as the carpet...rather than constantly having to clean up the poop from the carpet in front of the sink, a plastic runner solved the problem!
And, by the way, the toilet he uses does have the elevated extension and the hand rails...while it helps him get up and down from the toilet, it doesn't help when he decides to go in his pants rather than get up from his recliner to go to the bathroom. So now he wears pads...we're still fighting to get him to wear depends. At least we now have a pad on his recliner seat so as not to ruin the furniture!
Hope some of these suggestions help! We know the frustration!
He mess the toilet too. We bought him a urine bottle at a pharmacy (like the one they're using in hospital).
It helps at the first time, but someone has to remind him to use it otherwise he forgets all the time. We got frustated because he keeps forgetting (because of his dimentia).
Last night, my husband had a great idea. We put the bottle on the top of the toilet (close the lid) so he will see the bottle.
It helps. But we need to put the bottle back, because he will put it on the floor after using it (much easier than cleaning the mess).
Hopefully this will works, at least for now. We understand this is just a beginning...
This mess only starts about 2 months ago & it stress me out! We always do the cleaning together (me and my husband), at least the burden carried together is much much lighter!!
Hope this will help.
elly
I want share my experience for male incontinent problems, I was taking care of patient who he had MS. He could not control his Balder at all.... So I researched all medical catalog then found condom catheter( sometimes call Texas condom) condom should change every day..... . Least he could void in bag( call leg bag or Catheter bag) Bag are changed everyweek for new one, between clean with vinegar
Ask his Dr to write prescription for it....Medicare cover all those supplies, my Pt had secure horizon.Good Luck...
Sometimes I just wheel my mom outside and hose her off. I had hot water installed outside for that purpose! You are not alone!
I actually have 3 bedside commodes that I rotate.
The only thing about caregiving that really sends me over the edge is the bodily functions issues. You would think that companies would have come up with better solutions to help caregivers by now....I guess there is just no profit in it.
(love u daddy!!) and make sure that I never run out of bleach, pine sol, air freshener spray, etc. My hallway closet now looks like a janitor's cleaning closet.
As she has worsened, we discovered another helpful way of dealing with the mess. We put a large bath mat under the bedside toilet so it catches to misses and drips and overflow, etc. Then every day (sometimes twice) we take the mat away and put out a new one and wash the dirty one in the washer with plenty of hot soapy water. It doesn't alleviate all of the mess but it sure does make the cleanup a little easier.
Older bladders and pelvic floor muscles can be weak and there's often not a lot of time between the urge to go and the flow. It's also part of brain training so the whole process is complicated.
The unique coping ideas that come from this community are inspiring. Thanks for starting the New Year off so well!
Carol
Also having trouble with some days constipation, some days diarrhea! Can't go anywhere because I am afraid he will let it loose somewhere! Niece and sister are horrified and asking hospice if he is alright! He is almost 93 and weakened from pneumonia!
Any advice on how to regulate the senna plus for even stooping is appreciated! You just got to laugh it off! We use a lot of paper towels, windex with ammonia and plastic gloves! Our house is clean after we clean it up!
I only ever use senna as an absolute last resort - bisocodyl is what I try if the daily dosage doesnt work - you might know it as dulcolax it softens the stool but is not as harsh as senna. We seems to have a range of stuff that works in varying degrees!
Stage 1 lactulose
Stage 2 Movicol/laxido
Stage 3 Bisocdyl
Stage 4 Senna
Stage 5 HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP she is impacted
Stage 6 manual disimpaction
Stage 7 - we have never got to but it would be an anema - god forbid
At an office meeting during a break I overheard two young fellows who were in their late 30's, early 40's, who play basketball discuss their health issues... because of their years of playing basketball, either in college, semi-pros, or as a weekend sport, with back pain and because of their height, one mentioned he sits down to pee and the other one said he does, too... then they talked of other friends they knew in sports who did the same thing. That was refreshing to hear, that the next generation didn't feel degraded by having to sit down :)
Jude gave a good list of help with stool. Try a stool softener first. Slowly increase the amount of fiber in his diet. Read up on what foods are fiber filled. Be sure if you use a fiber supplement (Benefiber) that he drinks lots and lots of water or other non caffeine drinks or else he may become bloated and in pain. Miralax is good. We use 1/2 dosage daily for a while and then lay off for a few days. We also find that a hot beverage with breakfast will usually get things moving. Stewed or dried prunes, prune juice, apples and other fruit (not bananas, they are constipating) will all help. Bananas in moderation as they have other good qualities such as potassium. That reminds me, I believe Magnesium Citrate can be a good laxative. Of course, any exercise is good.
Be sure you have washable or disposable pads underneath him to protect the furniture and bedding.
The best thing is to take him to the toilet at regular intervals. Say every two hours. He has lost the ability to feel the urine and the diaper absorbs it so well that he may not feel wet. Just like baby diapers, they pull the wetness away from the body. Good luck. This is a problem most of us face at some time or another.