Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living
What you must know
Personal care covers bathing (complete, partial, bed bath, shower), mouth and denture care, hair and nail grooming, shaving, dressing, toileting with perineal care, bed making, and helping residents move - transfers, ambulation, and range of motion. The guiding idea is independence with safety: the resident does as much as they can and you fill in only the rest. Dignity drives technique - knock and wait, close the door or curtain, drape so that only the area being washed is exposed, and speak to the resident rather than over them. Standard precautions run through every task: gloves for mouth care, perineal care, and anything that may contact blood or body fluids, and a separate washcloth for the perineum, washed front to back.
Watch the skin. Report redness that does not blanch, bruising, tears, rash, or dry cracked areas, especially over the sacrum, heels, hips, and ears. Never rub a reddened area.
Traps that appear in questions
- Dressing: put clothing on the weak or affected side first; remove it from the strong side first.
- Dentures are handled over a sink or basin lined with a towel and cleaned with cool water - hot water warps them.
- Diabetic residents: do not soak the feet or cut nails or calluses; report instead.
- Test bath water before the resident gets in (warm, not hot - about 105 F).
- Apply elastic stockings in the morning, before the resident is out of bed.
- Never share razors or nail tools between residents.
Rule of thumb
Mr. L had a stroke and cannot lift his left arm but can do everything else. Weak side first when dressing, strong side first when undressing: you guide the sleeve up his left arm, then let him pull the shirt across and finish the right side himself.