Personal Care For Family Or Client With No Mobility

There may come a time when you, a family member or a client's life can no longer manage to get in & out of the tub easily or they may have fear of falling & prefer to have a bed bath.

Washing Hair
For my family member I found it easier for her & myself to use a solar shower to wash her hair while she was sitting in the wheel chair. You can buy a Coleman Solar Shower " witch you can buy " Walmart in the seasonal camping section for $9.97. Pick a spot where there is a sturdy beam & use a sturdy hook. I use a hook made for holding a water hose. Install the hook high enough so that the water will come out of the solar shower easily. Fill with warm water. You don`t have to completely fill it. It only need enough water to wash their hair.

Solar Shower

You can buy a cape but all I bought was a shower curtain from the Dollar store to cover her so that she didn't get wet other than her hair. She held a plastic basin witch can also be bought from the dollar store in front of her for the water to drain into. This allowed me to give her hair a good scrubbing & rinsing. When I wash hair I lather up the shampoo & scrub with pads of my fingers. Some love it when you scrub their hair but depending of the person this may vary.

Bed Bath

Put a towel on pillow for hair & lay a towel over the bed.

Have them lay on towel with assistance.

Use basin with 2 wash cloths. One wash cloth for washing with soap & other wash cloth for washing off soap.

Back Area

To do back area assist them to roll over to their side facing away from you so that there back is closest to you.

Private Area

Using soap give a good scrub, especially in creases. Don`t be scared to give this area a good scrub. It is no different than when you washed your baby if you are a mother or washing your self. It is the circle of life. When you are born your mother or father baths you until you are able to do it on your own. Then as you get older you may or may not need help again. 

Make sure to dry creases. Lightly sprinkle powder in creases & rub in if that is what they like.

Help them to get dressed.

This isn`t for everyone, this is just how I helped my family member & thought this would be usful information for others.