This technique for bathing someone bedridden, with sequelae of stroke, multiple sclerosis or after complex surgery, for example, helps to decrease the effort and work done by the caregiver, as well as to increase the patient's comfort.
The bath should be given at least every 2 days, but the ideal is to keep the bath as often as the person took a shower before being bedridden.
To bathe the bed at home, without using a waterproof mattress, it is advisable to place a large open plastic bag under the bed sheet to avoid wetting the mattress. Then you must follow these steps:
- Place the person on their backs and carefully drag them to the side of the bed where they are going to bathe; Remove the pillow and blankets, but keep a sheet over the person to avoid colds and flu; Clean the eyes with a wet gauze or a clean, damp cloth, without soap, starting from the inner corner of the eye to the outside; wash the face and ears with a damp sponge, preventing water from getting into the eyes or entering the ears; drying the face and eyes with a dry, soft towel; put liquid soap in the water, uncover the arms and belly and, using the sponge dipped in soap and water, wash the arms, starting with the hands towards the armpits, and then continue washing the chest and belly; Dry the arms and belly with the towel and then put the sheet back on top, leaving the legs uncovered this time; Wash the legs with the sponge wet with soap and water, from the feet to the thighs; Dry well legs with the towel, taking special t option to dry between the toes so as not to get ringworm; wash the intimate region, starting from the front and moving back towards the anus. To wash the anus region, a tip is to turn the person on their side, taking the opportunity to fold the wet sheet on the patient's back and place a dry one; Dry the patient's intimate region well and, even with the person lying on its side, wash the back with the other damp and clean sponge so as not to contaminate the back with remains of feces and urine; lay the person on the dry sheet and remove the rest of the wet sheet, stretching the rest of the dry sheet over the entire bed.
Finally, you should dress the person with clothing appropriate to the temperature inside the room, so that it is not cold but also that it is not too hot.
If a plastic was used under the bed sheet so as not to wet the mattress, it should be removed at the same time and in the same way that the wet sheet is removed from the bath water.
In addition to bathing, brushing your teeth is also important, see the precautions you should take in the video:
On the day the patient is bathed, to save time and work, you can also take the opportunity to wash your hair. See a simple technique for washing hair in bed.
Necessary material for bathing the bed
The material that must be separated before bathing includes:
- 1 medium bowl with warm water (approximately 3 L of water); 2 clean gauze for the eyes; 2 soft sponges, one is used only for the genital and anus; 1 large bath towel; 1 tablespoon of liquid soap, approximately, suitable for the patient's skin to dilute in water; clean and dry sheets; clean clothes to wear after bathing.
An interesting alternative to facilitate bath time is to use a special bath bed, such as the Confort Care brand hygiene stretcher, for example, which can be purchased at a medical-hospital equipment store for an average price of 15 thousand reais.
Care after bathing
In the case of people who have bandages, it is important to avoid wetting the bandage so as not to infect the wound, however, if this happens, the bandage must be redone or else, go to the health center.
After bathing in bed, it is important to apply moisturizing cream on the body and put deodorants on the armpits to avoid the bad smell, increase comfort and avoid skin problems, such as dry skin, bedsores or fungus infections, for example.
