My sister is in a nursing home and on MANY meds. She is so sleepy sometimes she refuses her showers many times. How can I help her?

Why so many meds? Mom was 89 when she passed. She was taken off her cholesterol meds because her numbers were high. Never went back on. Really, with Dementia it really wasn't that important to be watching her cholesterol. Since her numbers were good, her thyroid med was stopped with regular testing done.

Sometimes people are over medicated. See if you can get a copy of her meds. Look them up to see what they are being used for. I have found meds used during a hospital stay may not be needed once at home. Because of pain the hospital doubled Moms BP meds and added one. Once the pain was gone and she was home she couldn't stay awake. Too much BP meds. So she was taken back to her normal dose. She had a fast heart rate, meds given. Once she was put on Thyroid meds, the heart rate went back to normal but she was still taking the med. I questioned it and her PCP weaned her off. No, the PCP never questioned it, I did.

I think it is fairly common for patients to fear showers/baths, though I don’t know why. My husband began it before he went into the memory care community and it continues. At home , I had him sit on a bench and used a hand held shower head, only wetting a small part of his body at a time and then slowly moving on. I used a wash cloth on his head/hair. He still didn’t like it much but wasn’t so scared. Speak softly and take as long as necessary and make sure room is warm.