Bathroom and toilet doors should not be locked. If this creates a
problem, fit a special lock which can be opened from outside in an
emergency. If the bathroom or toilet is small it will be safer to have the door
rehung to open outwards.
If getting on and off the toilet is a problem, a toilet frame screwed to the
floor or attached to the lavatory may help. This provides side rails similar to an
armchair. Alternatively a horizontal rail fixed firmly to the wall may be helpful.
If the toilet is too low a raised seat which sits directly onto the china bowl will
help. Some toilet frames incorporate a raised seat. Soft, absorbent, interleaved
paper in a box is easier to use one handed than a continuous roll. A commode by the bedside will save going along to the toilet at night. If a
commode is also needed by day, and emptying it is a problem, a chemical closet
will be better. These can be used many times before being emptied and
incorporate a chemical which eliminates odours.
If incontinence is a problem consult the district nurse. Boots also sell
incontinence products and have a free catalogue,” Personal Health for the
Problems of Incontinence”.
Bathing can be difficult. A district nurse may be able to give blanket baths
and in some places bathing attendants are employed to give people baths at
home. Male nurses and bathing attendants are sometimes available.
The family doctor can arrange this service.
Anyone who has difficulty in bathing should have an anti-slip bath mat
with suction cups that grip the bottom of the bath. A firmly fixed horizontal rail
along the wall just above the bath will also help. The type of rail that attaches to
the taps is less good because it is in the wrong place at the wrong height and is
only as strong as the taps.
Bath boards fit across the top of the bath making a sort of shelf for sitting
on. Get in by sitting on the board, then lift the legs into the bath and finally slide
to the middle of the board. A shower attached to the taps can be used to wash the
body in this position. A shower curtain round the bath will keep the floor dry.
Bath seats fit inside the bath. They must be stable or they may tip. Either
move down to the bath seat from the bath board or use the bath board alone if
getting up from the bottom of the bath is the main problem.
There are other more sophisticated bath aids available which lower the
person down into the bath and raise them up again. Some are pivoted on a
vertical bar and operate by turning a handle while others use an air or
water-filled cushion.
The bath should be filled before the person gets in to ensure the
temperature is correct. Getting out, pull out the plug and then start to rise
immediately using the buoyancy of the water to help. A very large bath towel or
a towelling bathrobe will help drying.
A shower is much easier to manage than a bath. An anti-slip mat on the
floor is essential and a chair to sit on may help. But for someone who has not
used a shower before and has had a stroke it may not be the best solution.
Getting in and out over a ledge, controlling the temperature of the water and
washing adequately with water coming into the eyes may prove too difficult.