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lemsolut Asked August 2016

My father has Alzheimer's and will not shower without a huge fear.

He argues and argues and when he finally gives in he just lets water run on him and doesn't use soap. He then dries off and will not take another shower again for weeks, until the next big argument. Not sure what to do but cant imagine it is good for a 84 year old man not to shower for weeks at a time. Any advice would be appreciated.

freqflyer Aug 2016
lemsolut, one has to realize as one ages they tend to have a fear of falling, and a bathtub/shower is one of the largest fears. I am 70 and I am beginning to have that fear, too.

Would your Dad take a bath instead? Or would it be difficult for him to stand up to get out of the tub? Make sure there is a rubber safety mat on the floor of the tub. And install grab bars if there are none.

Inbetween showers/baths have him use baby wipes inplace of the bath... if it is a warm day the cool wipes will feel good. Huggies make a nice wipe, same with Cottonelle.

And whatever you do, have a lot of patience because a person with Alzheimer's cannot always reason.

brandywine1949 Aug 2016
My advice is: If he lives with you, he will be going to the NH if he pitches another fight. That is what I would tell him. Life is too short to deal with these matters.

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