Even if your senior doesn’t suffer from Dementia and Alzheimer’s it can be hard to convince them to change their clothes, especially when they’re comfortable. If you are a family member or a child taking care of your parents, they may also not want you to change their clothes with them even when they need this help. This is just one reason why hiring outside senior home care professionals can be a good move for your family.
Your elderly parents may not want you to help change their clothing because they don’t understand the importance of clean clothes, see no point, or they don’t want your help because it makes them feel less independent. Senior home care can help your elderly parents feel more in control but not rely on their kids, and it may help them stay clean and focus on things like hygiene more.
Wearing clean clothes is essential to a healthy lifestyle, but it’s also something that is easy to neglect. Many of you may throw on the same pants a few days in a row or even wear the same undergarments more than once, but this is really bad and can cause harm to seniors. It’s time to encourage seniors to wear clean clothes and find routines that work for your elderly parents.
Why Clean Clothing Is Crucial
Senior Home Care Syosset, NY: Wearing Clean Clothing
Dirty garments may retain bacteria, and wearing clothes that contain these microbes might result in skin problems. Body odor may also emerge while wearing garments that have germs and fungus on them.
Clothes collect microorganisms, making re-wearing dangerous. Dirty underwear contains more germs from bodily fluids and excrement, increasing the risk of illness if reused without washing. The only method to prevent germs from spreading is to wash your clothing and wash your hands after handling filthy laundry.
Some seniors may not be able to do laundry by themselves, and you must take the time to help them keep up with it. If you cannot stop by once or twice a week to help out with small chores like this, it’s time to look into senior home care that can help create a healthy routine that may also include cleaning clothes.
Best Ways To Get Seniors To Wear Clean Clothes
There are a few tips that you can use to try to convince your elderly parents to change. If they don’t want your help you can recommend these tips to a professional caregiver that will help out your parents.
Recommend Outfits
Sometimes a senior will have so many choices they don’t know what to wear or can’t choose something for themselves so prefer to wear the same thing over and over. To get around this you can recommend outfits. Say you haven’t seen them in something in a while and it looks good on them. This small thing may be what they need to get dressed.
Let Them Know The Importance
Honesty is always a good approach. Explain to them what happens when you rewear clothes and how it can be bad for their skin. Some seniors may not know what can happen if they wear dirty clothes so you can be honest and tell them.
Limit Distractions
If the TV is on or there is something distracting it can be much harder to get a senior to change. Turn off the TV, radio, or podcast to get their full attention when changing.