My Father won't bathe and I have to ask him day in and day out. Now what?

Has your dad been diagnosed with dementia? It sounds like that is likely however some situations so mimic dementia. Try to get him to a doctor just for advice and a diagnosis. You can write the doctor a letter ahead of the appointment so that he or she is aware of your concerns. That helps the doctor plan for the appointment and makes it less likely that you will have to say disturbing things in front of your dad.

As others have suggested, a home health agency can send a person just for bathing. Daughters bathing fathers can sometimes be tricky and he may do better with a "nurse" (as the older generation often views these people) to help.

Lack of cleanliness itself isn't the issue - he won't die from that. It's the combination of issues that concerns me.

I hope that you can find some help.
Carol

Call his doctor; ask the doctor to order some home care. You can hire a "bath aide", a person who specializes in giving elders baths, doing grooming, etc.

My father was the ssme way. I just let it go as long as i could, then bathroom issues made it necessary for assisted living. Try putting a basin of warm water with soap and cloth in front of him every morning until he takes advantage of it. Might work. Or once a week. Btw..my Dad loves where he is.

I believe this is very common--the fear of taking a shower. If he puts on sleep wear, take his dirty clothes and set out clean ones. There is a dry shampoo you can use on his hair without water. If he is not seeing a geriatric doctor or neurologist, I would suggest making an appointment with one. I'm thinking you will be needing more help in the future. Your local Agency on Aging should be a good resource. Best wishes!

Has your dad been diagnosed with dementia? My father hasn't used soap or shampoo in over two years. He gets in the shower and just wets himself each morning and puts on the same clothes that he will wear indefinitely for months unless I go in and replace the dirty ones while he's asleep with clean ones. He sleeps 20 hours a day. I finally figured out (on my own) that he has behavioral variant frontotemporal degeneration/dementia. I'm working on getting it officially diagnosed. You'll want to rule out that your dad has that.

Believe it or not, taking a shower is a monumental effort for someone with an energy problem that "sleeps all day". Skin problems sounds like he is not getting proper nutrients. Dehydration can make skin feel itchy and dry. Sometimes it's a reaction to the soap used to make clean sheets and clean underware. (making the dirty items more comfortable).

My mother also hates to take a shower. We do it once a week. In between we use bath cleaning washcloths to clean her. You can heat them in the microwave.

It sounds like you may very well need help with this situation. Sometimes the smell will get so bad you just have to get some help and just put the person in the shower and actually clean them up. Nursing homes often find themselves in the same predicament of having to clean the person up themselves. This happened with my foster dad because the smell was so bad that other residents living in other apartments could smell him from a far off. It was mentioned that lack of cleanliness is not life-threatening, which is only true to a point and I'll explain why. My foster dad also refused to bays and I could never figure out why. Someone in his apartment building even came to me complaining about the smell coming from his downstairs apartment and they knew he wouldn't bathe because they said he stunk real bad. I told the person I already knew but I can't do nothing about it by myself because I don't have any help. I assured them that if I had the right help that he could just be put in the shower and cleaned up but since I don't have any help I can't do anything. This went on for quite a while until APS finally put him in a nursing home. I suspect he may not have showered for years and he eventually got pneumonia and some other respiratory infection twice and he was actually hospitalized both times. Pneumonia and other respiratory infections are life-threatening. Bacteria builds up and even spreads after a while. When dad was clean he didn't get sick, I noticed this. When a person stinks real bad it has a literally nauseating smell, and if you vomit too much even if that can be life-threatening as we all know. This is why filth is such a health hazard because it will make you and others around you very ill and you'll come to a point at some time where you just can't be around the person anymore

My relative would always say they were clean and did not need a bath.I would reply that they were right, they didn't smell or anything but that they weren't clean under the microscope. Sometimes a brief conversation about microbes and how they can hurt or heal you. With regard to the itching I don't know if they'd understand if you said that the cells were old and trying to go away and that bathing will help. Almond or grapeseed oil are great.grapeseed absorbs fast , isn't greasy and a little goes a long way.....Of course my relative passed unexpectedly one day within an hour of being bathed. While making arrangements, the funeral coordinator mentioned a charge for bathing, I informed them that the deceased had just been bathed by their CNA.He paused and said they still had to do it. I asked if it was because they weren't considered clean under the microscope, and the guy said, "well stated". I could hear someone dead getting in the last laugh on that one. Hope this helps some.

Ritch1965: Your father needs the aide of a psychiatrist. While not wanting to bathe is a quite common topic on this forum, it is not normal. You may want to use a scare tactic on him about the picking of the skin--"dad, if you don't stop picking your skin, you're going to get melanoma." His response might already be written, e.g. "good, then I can die." But you'll think of a good comeback on that one! Have faith!