Good Hygiene Tips for Seniors
As seniors age and start to slow down, everyday tasks that were once routine, start to become so much harder to do. Even things that for years seniors couldn't start our day without doing - such as showering or brushing teeth, can become a chore, and at times even painful or frightening to do. As the difficulty increases, often seniors start skipping these tasks or doing them less frequently. Neglecting hygiene can have many negative impacts. Seniors may start to isolate, fearing they aren’t suitable to see visitors or to head out in public. And often they might not notice a difference in their appearance or their smell, but others do. Poor hygiene can also lead to health issues, such as infections or more. Couple that with medicines that lower resistance to such things, and it can be dangerous for seniors.
To help make it easier for seniors to keep good hygiene a part of their everyday lives, here are some tips.
Make Hygiene A Part of Each Day
Make it so that the day doesn’t begin without a proper hygiene routine. Whether they are doing it on their own, or with some help from you, ensure your seniors are brushing their teeth, combing their hair and cleaning their body. You can make a checklist for them that they can check off each task each day, or even facetime them each morning to remind them and help keep track of what is happening.
As little reminders, you can help them set out clean clothes the night before. Putting a fresh wash cloth, and even squeezing the toothpaste on the brush ahead of time can help seniors stick to that routine.
Plan Somewhere to Go or a Visit
Having something for seniors to do, can inspire them to take better care of their hygiene. For example, planning a walk each day at places such as Powhatan State Park or the James River Park, can spur them to get ready each morning for their outing. After working up a sweat on the walk, it also can inspire them to clean up, to continue the great healthy feeling they got on the walk.
Planning social outings also can inspire seniors to take better care of themselves. If they know they are going to see a friend, or even be seen in public, they are more likely to push through and put themselves together with clean clothes and freshly-brushed hair. Inviting friends or family over can also have the same impact.
Make it Safe and Easy
One of the things that holds seniors back from proper hygiene each day is fear for their own safety. For example, if they’ve fallen once, they often are fearful of falling again, whether it is in the shower, getting up from the toilet, or even while standing brushing their teeth. Ensuring they are in a safe environment to do these things is important.
A great way to help steady your seniors is to install grab bars in any place they might need a little more steadiness. The bars can go outside and inside the shower, near the toilet and near the sink. A shower chair also allows seniors to sit if their legs are wobbly while they are in the shower, and also still get clean.
Remove bath mats and rugs beneath the sink and toilet that can pose a tripping hazard for seniors, who often shuffle their feet. In the shower, though, you can place non-skid surfaces, and even mats, that might make seniors feel steadier on their feet.
If your senior doesn’t feel comfortable showering or bathing when someone isn’t around, make things easier for them. Get some high-quality wipes that can at least help them clean up crevices and under their arms.
Get Some Help
To help make hygiene easier for your senior loved one, you also can consider hiring an in-home caregiver. Professional caregivers can help seniors with bathing, toileting and getting ready each morning and evening when you are not there. They also can help do things that family members might not feel comfortable doing, such as bathing their loved one or being there with them while using the toilet.
Visiting Angels Can Help
Visiting Angels can help seniors maintain a hygiene routine. With our personal care services, our trained professionals can help seniors with everyday tasks of daily living, such as washing their hair, combing it, and getting it ready for a day on the town. They can help with any tasks that seniors might have difficulty with from toileting, to walking safely up and down the stairs. Whether you are looking for full-time home care, or just someone to help for an hour each morning, our compassionate caregivers will be there when you need them. From personal care to specialty care such as dementia care, respite care and social care, Visiting Angels caregivers can do it all.
We serve seniors in the Richmond area, including in Short Pump, Glen Allen, Atlee, Carytown, Chamberlayne, Dumbarton, Ginter Park, Hanover, Henrico, Innsbruck, Lakeside, Laurel, Mechanicsville, Ridge, The Fan, West End and Wyndham. We will come into your home and do a free assessment to see how our compassionate caregivers can help meet your needs.
To find out more about our services and how they can help you, contact us online or call us today at (804) 353-0000.
If you feel called to help seniors in your area, we are always looking to add compassionate caregivers to our staff. Contact us for more information.