My LO has neglected her personal hygiene for months ,every time I attempt to tell her about it she ignores me and gets very verbal, I know it may be embarrassing for her ,but it has come to be very serious. I can see her skin is very dry and needs moisture.. she never uses any health care products ,when she gets out of bed she takes her clothes with her to the bathroom and gets dressed there ,without washing .I argue with her constantly to let me wash her but ..aggressively refuses ..I'm thinking about home health but she won't hear of it .I just know that this isn't healthy HELP ,PLEASE
Another thing, some people become claustrophobic when in a shower. Especially if there are glass doors. I know for myself, I need to keep the far door open a couple of feet. Sitting in the tub works but it is a major chore getting in to sit down, and more so trying to get up :P
Then there is the fear of falling. If your love one is using a moisturizing liquid soap and/or hair conditioners, it will make the floor of the tub/shower feel like an ice rink, even with a tub mat inside.
Towel drying isn't easy. Lot of bending and reaching which can be tiring.
A love one doesn't need to shower daily, twice a week or once a week is good enough, unless they are doing hard labor. If a love one is a Depends wearer, baby wipes work quite well between showers. Recently I found a product called “Water Wipes” in the baby section, quite pleased with the wipes.
I hope this gives you a better understanding on what could be happening. Since your wife's skin is dry, buy her a lotion that has a very pleasant smell. I recently bought St.Ives Smoothing Body Lotion, rose scented, and I love it. Now I understand why my grandmother and my Mother had rose scented products as they got older :)
I noticed that rehab facilities used them a lot, and had the opportunity to experience them after surgery some years back. I was really surprised how refreshing the experience was, and how easy I was to become clean w/o the ordel of getting in and out of a tub.
The rehab facilities that I've experienced used CeraVe products, but on checking in the local chain supermarket, I found a plethora of products, some more expensive than others. I would only buy the lotions though. The sprays have some restrictive use cautions, so I'd stay away from them.
When there has been a distinct *change* in somebody's habits it helps to track back and see if you can identify where things began to go awry; then you might be able to see if you can identify possible causes; and then you've got a hope of addressing them.
Meanwhile, stop arguing with her. It isn't solving the problem.