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If you have a sick and incapacitated/bedridden person in your care, you may find the following tips helpful:
If you can afford it, please buy them an air bed. It is a good bed that does not allow for bedsores. Keep patient away from direct contact with regular mattress, as they encourage bedsores.
Always use fresh bedsheets in the mornings and evenings. This will eliminate smell and unnecessary sweating.
Dermazin cream (sulphadiazine) is a cream that helps to treat and also prevent bedsores. Apply it as patient’s body cream morning and evening after each bath.
Switching patients sides every two hours should be religiously done. This will help to prevent bedsores. Apply Deemazin cream on patient’s ears.
Do not just lift and switch patient’s sides, stretch their legs, toes, fingers, hands, massage their back and neck gently before switching their sides. By so doing you also help their muscles not to waste.
If patient is not seeing a physiotherapist, it’s your duty to give them mild massages and physical therapy in the mornings and evenings before shower. This will minimize any stiffening.
Do not keep patient in just one place all day every day. After bathing patient in the morning, move them to the sitting room. Buy a hospital bed if you can afford one. Always recline bed to any height for patient’s comfort. Patient should remain in the sitting room until evening. Retire patient to a clean and dry bed in the bedroom for a good night rest.
Do not forget to switch patient’s sides every two hours even at night.
Always replace patient’s pillow with a dry side or even another pillow at each switch. This is to eliminate sweat that could cause discomfort.
If patient drools, it’s best to have a small towel placed between their mouths and the pillow. This towel should be replaced with another fresh dry towel when soaked with saliva. Do not leave soaked towel on the skin for long as it could cause harm to the skin.
Do not wear patient pampers all day every day, except to put them on a wheel chair or prepare them for a physiotherapy. When they are lying down, place the diaper behind their butt, roll tissue paper, place it on the diaper right under patient’s buttocks, as patient poops, it drops on the tissue paper and this should be removed immediately and patient cleaned using wet wipes and fresh tissue rolled and replaced on same diaper. This method saves you from wasting diaper at each poo time. It’s also easier to clean patient without poop staining their entire private part. It also gives patients a lot of freedom and eliminates bedsore associated with prolonged wearing of diaper.
Do not just leave patient always lying down. Put them on wheel chair for at least 30minutes in the afternoons and also in the evenings before you wheel them into the bed room.
While lifting patient, make sure to learn how best to lift them. See a physiotherapist or professional weight lifter to guide you properly. This is to protect you and also the patient from injury.
Be careful with their urine catheter. Change as and when due to avoid infection.
Inform patient every time you want to do anything to their body. It’s like taking permission. Always say hello to patient appropriately especially in the mornings and thank them too after each meal if they are older than you are.
Watch out for all manner of suggestions from prophets, spiritualist, herbalists, friends and well wishers. Some would even suggest you suspend doctor’s prescription for their concoction or prayers. Some will go as far as making incisions on patient’s body in the name of applying herbs. Wisdom is profitable to direct, do not let them reduce your sick loved one to a guinea pig.
Checking blood pressure and sugar level should be a daily routine.
If you cannot take your bedridden patient to the hospital on check up, it’s best to make arrangements with a laboratory scientist to come by the house at least every three months to collect samples for blood count, liver, kidney function, culture tests etc. This is very important.
Never leave a bedridden patient alone at all times as they can choke on their own vomit or while coughing, their neck can almost snap while sneezing.
Be very observant, especially if they can no longer speak. Every sound or facial expression they make is left for you the caregiver to check what is making them uncomfortable. You are all they have.
Anger and frustration around bedridden patient is something you should do away with. They are already going through so much, seeing you angry and frustrated all the time is a no-no. Take some time off yourself. It will help keep you afloat. Taking care of a sick person non stop is challenging. It is exhausting. Give them your best and also take care of yourself.
Care giving is not something one person can handle effectively. If you can afford two or more auxiliary nurses to assist you while they run a weekly shift, it will be much better and easier. While at it, keep a close eye on your caregivers, as some of them are made in hell.
