I am not a healthcare worker or expert - just a daughter, mother, wife and full time worker to help pay bills. My mom is a widow ( lost my dad 2 years ago) and stays in a wheelchair or recliner most of the time due to fear of falling for severe neuropathy ( not feeling her feet or calves ). She sleeps from about 3 am to 1 pm and many nights does not even wake up and finds everything wet when she does. I think due to the fact it is hard for her to get up and down (weight) she waits until the last minute during waking hours to get to the bathroom but at least she does get to the bathroom. Question: we have washable pads on the bed at night but at least three nights a week these pads get soaked. ANY TIPS on handling this issue would be helpful. I have her put them in a plastic garbage bin with a lid in the garage until I (once a week) wash them and bleach them. Her doctor said most people just live with incontinence until it gets too unbearable because the meds have side effects and the surgery (for her age/weight) is not recommended - and I feel sure it is because the recovery would be too hard on her. What are people doing to make sure things stay clean enough (bed, linens, these pads etc) ?
Your mom's doctor is correct that there are side effects to medications. While I do not have any medical background, I would respectfully argue that incontinence and staying in wet pull-ups for long periods also has negative side effects, UTIs for one. My m-i-l in assisted living has nighttime incontinence. Staff had her on a toileting schedule waking her 3 -4 times per night to help prevent "accidents" but the sleep disruptions were having a negative impact on her mental health. With her frequent UTIs her MD prescribed a medication called Methanamine which can have negative side effects. However, the medication has greatly decreased the frequency of UTIs which in turn has decreased her nighttime incontinence. Now staff only has to get her up once a night.
Honestly sometimes I think it comes down to deciding between the lesser of two evils. M-i-l is 86 so for us it is about her quality of life.
I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.
As for the laundry - I assume you already have a waterproof mattress cover. Washing the bed pads with bleach is usually not recommended as it will ruin the waterproof layer - check the label.
What kind of incontinence pad or pull up is she wearing, there are many that are more absorbent than those commonly found at the local drug store.
Thank you for the reply. I do not live with mom - but I am within 3 miles in a straight shot ( so I am not there to wake her. I don't know how I feel about ever having to change her - I guess we do what we need to do when the time comes and when that time comes I guess I will be able to do that. For now I wash , dry, fold , grocery shop, put away groceries and visit and eat at least two meals a week with her. Just want to make sure I am keeping things as clean as I can in this stage.
Mum has TENA incontinence pads and netted pants as well.
Have you considered a commode chair next to her bed (if it's possible for her to transfer to it easily)?
We used one for mum when she first moved in with us two years ago, but now it's not necessary as the pads are a godsend. (Even though she still goes to the bathroom as it is an ingrained habit I think).