How do you deal with hand washing?

Hi Willy, have you ever thought of hot sauce with hot pepper to curb the habit of someone putting their fingers in their nose, mouth and wherever else? It won't take long to curb the habit, because they won't want to feel the hot sauce in their mouth, nose or wherever else you can imagine their hands have been. 😃 If you get creative enough, you can actually make someone where those safety gloves because you could just put them on the person and put a piece of tape around the wrist area to hold them on.

If only we could get THEM to wear the gloves, we could strip off the soiled ones after they use the bathroom or cover those questionable fingers when they come into the kitchen. LOL

Marialake, I really like your idea about getting an extra fridge. However, what I would do in your specific case is go ahead with a full-size fridge because you never know when you may need the extra space when you discover your tiny fridge is just too small for possible changing needs, because you could easily outgrow your tiny fridge. This is why I would go ahead with a full-size one. What I would do just in case this person happens to wander off where the other fridge is, you can actually put a lock on the fridge so that it cannot be opened by anyone except whoever has the key. Meanwhile, even if you get another fridge, how are you going to stop the current problem of this person handling the one in the kitchen? You can get a second fridge, but it's not going to stop the person from handling everything in the kitchen. This is where you're going to have to get creative and find clever ways to keep this person out of the kitchen. This is why I thought of the door idea because you can put a lock on that door when you're working in the kitchen or when it's not in use. All you have to do is just locked the door and that person cannot contaminate any food. I also like your idea of storing everything up as high as absolutely possible. If you happen to live in an older home like I do, you may find some of those older homes have overhead cabinets that require you to have a stepstool to access them. These are actually separate overhead cabinets. These are actually handy for keeping extra stuff that's less frequently used. However, in your case, you can store nonperishable food in those cabinets to protect them from contamination. Another thing you can also do is buy a standalone closet like container and store extra food in there. You can also put a lock on that. Another bright idea is to buy some of these huge plastic storage bins with lids. Those particular types of boxes can be stored under a high sitting bed, or even in a closet. These boxes can also be stored on end to save space. If you're into building stuff, you can even start those boxes in the garage with overhead racks. There are many ways you can use these boxes and various ways you can store them. Another thing you can do if you have stuff like potato chips sitting out, you can store them in your cupboard. You can also store them in your bedroom. Depending on how strict you are against people going in your bedroom, this would definitely be a place to put stuff you don't want touched such as shared commodities. I don't know what kind of space you have under your bed, but I would highly recommend a higher setting bed if you don't have much space under there because you can really start a lot under a bed with a lot of space underneath. I have a higher bed myself, and oh the stuff you can get underneath! I actually have two level storage under my bed and it's full. Underneath bedspace is definitely a good place to store extra commodities. If you also have a hidden closet, you can also store commodities in there. Some older homes have secret closets because when some of them were built, families usually head up to 12 kids and they needed the extra space to store goods. Families back then were much bigger than they are now, and some of these older homes would really surprise you.

I know the person I care for doesn't wash his hands properly as I frequently find faeces on his towel in the toilet. I keep a towel across the room for myself. Yes I've managed to persuade him to use hot water and antibacterial soap instead of just sticking his hands under the cold tap for a few seconds but he hasn't got the patience to wash or rinse them thoroughly! I have become paranoid about cleaning door handles and anything else he touches, kettle, tea,coffee and sugar canisters etc with antibacterial spray especially after finding faeces on a kitchen cupboard door handle! Showing him the stains on his towel has made no difference!

One thing I had notice with both my sig other and with my Dad is that when they use the bathroom, instead of using the sink in that bathroom, they both will head down to use the kitchen sink to wash their hands. What in the world??? So that means door handles, and stair railing were touched after bathroom use. No wonder the liquid Soft Soap can last years in that bathroom :P

Probably was something they both did in their own childhood. I noticed the same thing on the tv show "Everybody Loves Raymond" as Ray would also use the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

I don't eat out of the jars myself let alone serve to someone else. It's just so frustrating to have her handling everything. Every jar, cupboard, refrig door, oven door, package such as chips etc, ....................she's bent on opening and fingering and dipping into. I am buying a tiny frig for the basement where I can hide things. It's just frustrating. Also I put things up as high as I can :( Just needed to "tell somebody about it..............." Thanks to whoever is taking the time to read this.

OK, here's what I just thought of that can help you stop double dipping because it was mentioned here. What you can do is keep everything in your fridge but put a lock on that fridge. If you happen to see someone double dipping the mayonnaise or other things mentioned here, you can go up to the person and actually grab that food right out of their hands and toss it. You can very easily keep extra jars of unopened jelly and mayonnaise handy in your cupboard but out of reach. I really don't blame you for losing your appetite to double dipping, I would definitely never tolerate it at my house. I would grab that jar of jelly or mayonnaise out of that person's hand if I caught them double dipping and I would definitely toss it on the spot because they just contaminated it. You may also have to raise your voice and scold the person not to touch your food, and you may have to become so loud with them that you can be heard outside. There are very serious reasons why double dipping should be strongly discouraged because you really can infect other people with whatever you happen to be carrying. This is how diseases are often transferred, and bacteria often five off of certain types of foods such as dairy-based, sugar or as mentioned, even mayonnaise. My current experience with infection is why I must now be a little less trusting of others (within reason) where food is involved. I must encourage everyone out there to never double dip or even tolerate others doing it. When that jar is shared among other people, this is where you must really put your foot down hard, even if it involves getting very loud with that person who's contaminating the shared food

For those who have elders as a guest in their homes, there are things you can do to stop anyone from touching your food, and if it's your home, you set the rules and enforce them with consequences if those rules are broken. In order to keep someone from ruining the food you're trying to prepare in your kitchen, there are a number of ways you can keep the person entertained in another room, keeping them out of your kitchen. You really don't want to become infected with what maybe on someone else's hands when you're trying to prepare food, and installing a kitchen door would be a very good start. As for people you don't want touching your food and passing infection on to you or others, you can get creative by thinking outside the box if necessary. When you're preparing food or just serving a meal, you can keep hands out of the food you're trying to serve. I would also like to say but I don't blame anyone for not wanting to eat food touched by someone else, because you never know where their hands I have been or what's on those hands. I used to never give it a second thought until I developed an infection I'm now being treated for for the next two weeks. It's not just the elders you don't want touching your food, it's anyone of any age. This is why food safety gloves are highly recommended. Last I knew they were available in stores

My mom ruins all my food too. I can't stand right beside her 24/7 and she is always in the kitchen. She fingers EVERYTHING, opens every container, double dips a spoon in every container including mayonnaise, mustard, cottage cheese, jelly, you name it. Then my stomach turns when I go to get something to eat. I've lost my appetite. Sanitizer doesn't help with double dipping and I can't stand right beside her every single second. Ugh. She is on the move all day long. I'm only happy when she finally goes to bed at night. Even then, she gets up every couple hours to go to bathroom and wander around. So I understand your post about the food in the kitchen.

Hand hygiene is a problem with many older people. Staff at a nearby assisted living will not eat anything that their elderly clients have touched because even those who attempt to keep themselves clean are often not very successful. Even my mother, who is mostly bed bound and doesn't toilet herself, often has gross stuff under her fingernails because she is scratching, picking her nose or sticking her fingers in her dinner.
Keep her nails short if you can. And as Pam says, guide her to the sink and help her wash when she comes into the kitchen. Don't make a fuss about it, just say something like "oh, I'm glad you've come to help, let's get washed up first", help her find the soap and towel and then hand her a clean apron.

Part two

I think what I'm going through now may very well be why some people won't eat food that others have touched, because you don't know how clean or dirty someone's hands really are until you get something like h.pylori. When you get it, my doctor said it's very tough to get rid of, which is why it's so important to eliminate sugar, carbs and starches. Anything with sugar should be eliminated during treatment. Pasta, breads and other similar carbs should also be eliminated as well as potatoes and anything similar because all of these convert to sugar that feeds and prolongs h.pylori, worsening the problem of h.pylori. I hope someone out there can use my experience as an example of why proper hand scrubbing with a good antibacterial soap is so important. What happened to me actually happened to millions of others who don't even know they're infected but are still going through the same problem I was before treatment. Proper handwashing is very important and should be regularly practiced.

I must warn you right here and now about poor hand hygiene! Right now I'm being treated for an infection called h.pylori (which lives deep inside your stomach lining) because someone I knew who I thought I could trust had actually infected me. The bad thing about it is I've had it since about 2014, but since I never dealt with it before I never knew how to recognize what was going on so that could be addressed sooner.

Here's my experience:

I had an elderly friend of mine whose hands I thought were clean. Shortly after I started hanging around with him and we started eating together, I started noticing I was suddenly experiencing excessive gas that caused me to belch excessively. I never thought anything of him touching some of the food we were eating. It wasn't until very recently when I reached the point of noticing an increasing problem with heartburn, acid reflux, a swollen esophagus and eventually gurgling air bubbles from one specific spot of my stomach. The problem area expanded to much deeper down inside my digestive system. It wasn't until the problem started tripping my cough and gag reflexes and started getting far more dangerous to the point of nausea. I was on anti-acid medication that stopped working. It was then I did some research and so far all of the research pointed straight to the h.pylori infection. I even stumbled upon a blog board of other people who have had the same exact symptoms that so many people have. No one seems to know they have h.pylori causing these problems. A friend of mine said there was a special news broadcast a while back about on h.pylori. This would've been back about 2012. I didn't know about the news broadcast since I don't have TV service or get the paper.

* What really causes h.pylori is when someone has traces of fecal matter on their hands and they touch the food you eat. You may hear the water running and think they are washing their hands, but if people don't scrub their hands very well with soap and water, their hands won't be clean. It requires a very good antibacterial soap to really clean your hands very well. I'm a strong believer in antibacterial soap since I've had h.pylori and I've had it for too long now. I'm glad I'm finally under the right treatment that's actually working.

One thing to know about h.pylori is that it thrives on sugar, I found this out for myself from my own experience. Carbs and starches such as what's in potatoes and pasta also converts to sugar. Getting a good start on eliminating h.pylori requires a serious diet change for those who have it. Eliminating sugar, carbs, and starches will help to starve off h.pylori while you're undergoing treatment. The first thing you want to do is an internal flush to clean yourself out before eliminating sugar, carbs and starches, (which turn convert to sugar). I heard somewhere online that after you eliminate h.pylori, you're still vulnerable for the next five years after treatment, (since it can return if you're not careful what you put in your mouth). Thorough hand scrubbing is definitely going to be a very smart move especially during recovery from h.pylori. H.pylori will spread the longer it lingers in your body, and it can reach your heart eventually. I suspect my one elderly friend who was always in and out of the bathroom may have actually had h.pylori because he was always saying he was sick. He's the one who took very frequent squad rides to the ER when he would block himself up or have and emphysema attack. I didn't know that he would actually die shortly after I met him, we only know each other right around a year before he landed in a nursing home. He died shortly after landing in a nursing home, and I highly suspect h.pylori among other contributing factors caused his death. He could've lived well past 100 head of me taking much better care of himself because there are people who do live well past 100 though not many. My friend had the potential to have live much longer than he really did but he neglected himself to the point he died sooner than he should've. He was much healthier when I met him, but at some point he just started self-neglecting and going downhill. One of the problems I really didn't realize until it was too late was that he really didn't keep his hands clean, and I was eating some of the food he was serving after touching. Fecal matter starts on someone's hands. They touch that food they serve you, and you eat that food. In fact, I noticed one of the sugar wafers I ate tasted kind of funny. I have a bad habit of giving this person the benefit of the doubt until things started adding up. I'm just sorry I didn't realize what was really going on much sooner than I did, because had I known, I never would've eaten any of the food he touched. This is why hand scrubbing is so very important. Not keeping your hands clean cannot only infect you, but also others.

Thank you, we have tried everything mentioned, problem goes back even before the onset, now its an almost a daily problem, sanitizer in every room, hand washing signs posted and verbal encouragement all fail, we are dealing with a very unique, demanding, resistant and stubborn behavior (ingrained personality traits) pattern and are currently checking with her doctor to see what if anything can be done. When you try to help her she gets mad, she can't be questioned or given suggestions without resentment. She is currently on Donepezil and Namenda. Each sufferer brings their own personality and habits to the situation which makes each one unique, one thing will work for one person but not the next, so sad this disease! Thanks again

Keep hand sanitizer in every room and encourage hand washing as much as possible.

You gently lead her to the sink and wash them. You keep baby wipes and Kleenex within her reach at all times. You ask the MD if this is a side effect or something that can be medicated.