How do you wash someone's hair when they're no longer able to bathe or shower?
Mom has been declining fast these past couple of months. She is so weak, frail, sick, and cold all the time, that getting her into the shower is impossible, and I'm not going to force her. She's nearing the point of being totally bedridden. She can't stand or even get herself upright on her own, and has to be transported in a wheelchair.
Between me and home support, we are able to get her clean with regular sponge baths, but I have no idea how to wash her hair. And it's starting to smell....bad. Like, I'm pretty sure she's somehow gotten fecal matter in there! I know mom feels better when her hair is clean, and I'd like to get this done for her, but I'm not sure how, and home support doesn't seem to have any ideas either.
I did install a detachable shower head in the shower, but the bathroom is small and awkward, and there's no way to get her head tipped back far enough.....I can't think of any creative ideas that wouldn't get her and the entire room soaked. The kitchen also has a detachable sink hose sprayer, but she can't stand upright at all.
Any ideas? I have tried dry shampoo, but it only works for so long before it builds up, and it doesn't deal with the smell....plus there's nothing like that freshly-washed hair feeling!
If you go on Amazon there are capes and funnels for folks in wheelchairs
Back mom to the kitchen sink
Wrap her in towels and with an extra set of hands from home support you can get it done
Not saying water won't hit the kitchen floor but you should be able to keep it at a moderate amount
When I came back, the worker had managed to wash mom's hair without even getting her out of bed. :-) Such lovely ladies. I don't know how I would even manage without home support. Well, I wouldn't manage!
So it looks like she just put an underpad under mom, put a small pillow under mom's neck, put towels around her, and did it bit-by-bit like polarbear suggests. Even the underpad is barely wet! It probably helps that mom's hair is short and fine. I think if I got sick, my hair could never be managed that way!
cwillie - The OT has been several times, but she seemed as flummoxed as I was about the hair-washing question....and I was only asking for future consideration at that point! She basically said, dry shampoo, but agreed that it wouldn't be good long-term. Then she mentioned the community baths. Which is just impossible - if I could get mom out the door for a hair-washing, I'd just take her to the hair dresser.
The shower is one of those one-piece molded things with a built-in seat. So we did add a bunch of grab bars and a thing that helps mom push up off the toilet. It's just SMALL. And awkward, especially now that we have to get the wheelchair in there. There's barely room for a 2nd person now. The other bathroom is only slightly bigger, as it's fitted with a tub (that's too high on the sides for mom), and it's not OT outfitted at all. I could set it up, but I still don't think there's a way to wash hair in there.
As for getting mom into the shower....I feel like she can't even bear it anymore - it makes her feel so cold and tired, that I don't think showering helps her feel better these days. She is content enough to let herself be sponge-bathed.
I got a small plastic basin, drew some warm water and put just a very tiny bit of shampoo into the water.
Then I dipped a baby wipe in the water and squeezed it to get most of the water out.
I parted my hair and used the wipe to rub clean the part of scalp that was exposed. After that, I rinsed the baby wipe, and again squeezed it to get most of the water out.
Then I parted my hair again, right next to the first parting line to clean the next part of the scalp.
I methodically did this until the entire surface of the scalp was rubbed clean. It took a while to finish it.
Then I cleaned the hair, one small section at a time, again by using the wipe to clean the length of the hair shaft.
I can tell you that my head and hair felt very clean afterward.
If you do this for your mom, you might need to change the water and wipe a few times since you said her hair was very dirty.
Dorianne, given your mother's situation, I wouldn't even try to move her, but "bring the world to her."
Try different no rinse shampoos; I got a good one at Walgreens. But they are expensive. You might not get the odor or all the grit out the first time, but try the second time.
And make it a "happy event." Play her favorite CD before and during the process, make sure she's well covered with a blanket underneath either a towel or something waterproof. Finish up with a cup of coffee, herbal tea, more music, and whatever else she likes so that she can look forward to another shampoo, i.e., begin and end with positive activities and reinforcement.
See All Answers