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7 Tips for Bathing Your Elderly Loved One
Overcoming an Intimidating Task
Bathing and grooming your loved one is an essential part of caregiving, but it often can become a daunting task for caregiver and loved one alike.
“Most of the time, we’re caring for someone who has always taken care of us,” explains Anne Bannes, long-time caregiver and vice president of community services at St. Andrew’s At-Home Service for Seniors in St. Louis, Missouri. “When you’re giving a bath, it gives you a more acute view of their frailty, and (highlights) all the more you have to do for them on a physical plain.”
Not only can bathing be physically draining, it may also carry some deeply-rooted emotional and psychological implications that other caregiving tasks don’t. For instance, the lack of privacy and independence associated with bathing may make both caregiver and loved one uncomfortable, even humiliated. “No one wants their child or grandchild to do these things for them,” says Shelley Ludwick, director of clinical programs and education at the Visiting Nurses’ Association of America.
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