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Should you wake someone with dementia to change underwear?
My Dad who has dementia lives in an assisted living facility with my mom. He urinates in his incontinence underpants most nights. My mother said the facility is insisting they wake my dad in the middle of the night to change his underpants. They insist he must be urinating multiple times during the night because he is so wet in the morning. They say they are concerned he will get a rash. My mom asked them why they can't check for rashes when they change him or shower him. My mom doesn't want them to wake him. She thinks it would be much worse to wake him than allow him to sleep in wet pants. My mother is concerned that if they wake him in the middle of the night it will disorient him and interrupt what my mother has observed as a fairly restful sleep considering his condition.
About a month ago his doctor increased his antidepressant dosage which did affect his sleep. During this time his sleep was not restful, it was more difficult for his caregivers to wake him, and he fell asleep during the day and would not engage. However, as he has acclimated to the new dosage he functions much better.
My mom wants to know what would be the best thing for my dad. Should they wake him or let him sleep?
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They are doing the right thing. Leaving him in wet diapers not only causes a rash, it also causes skin break down which then leads to infections which then can cause sepsis…..David
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2 ReactionsJust to add, it sounds like your Dad is in a nice nursing center. All nursing homes are regulated and inspected frequently. There have been way too many nursing homes that have been sued as well as patients that have died due to sepsis or antibiotic resistant wounds or bed sores. Please explain this to your mom. What there doing is their job properly….David
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2 ReactionsIt is best they change his diaper in the middle of the night. At that time ,they can change his position in hopes he would not get a bed sore. My mother developed a bed sore and had to be treated for several weeks.
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3 ReactionsHi @bix, I can understand your mom's concern about waking someone when they are sleeping. I hope you saw the kind and helpful responses from @dabbs and @gretchen1018 to help give your mom the peace of mind why they wake your father when he is soiled.
Does he sleep during the day too?
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2 Reactions@bix. When I worked as a nurse, we were able to change underwear and bedding without really waking the patient . We always worked in pairs to make it easier on the patient (and quicker, too)! The staff is completely responsible for your father while he is with them. Nursing facilities have standards of care and rules they follow in order to provide safe and loving care and to pass state and federal inspections
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2 ReactionsIf someone woke my husband to change him in the middle of the night, they would have a fight on their hands! It’s very hard even when he’s awake. He is very uncooperative about anyone helping him. BUT, medication to help calm him down has helped a lot. He still resists but doesn’t get so angry. Over a year ago, I started using Seni pull-ups, that I order from Amazon. Whether it’s the pull-ups or God’s Grace to us. I’m not sure, but he has never had a sore or a rash the whole time! I highly recommend them. I know it’s not the ideal situation, but so far, it enables us to manage at home.
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