Personal Care and Hygiene
Purpose and privacy
Personal care is about cleanliness, comfort, skin health, and dignity, not just finishing a task. Knock, introduce yourself, explain what you will do, close the door or curtain, and expose only the area you are washing. Encourage the resident to do whatever they can - wash their face, hold the toothbrush, choose clothing. That is restorative care, not wasted time.
Bathing and skin
Check water temperature before the resident gets in: warm, not hot, tested on your inner wrist. Wash from clean to dirty - face and upper body first, perineal area last, always front to back. Look at skin folds, heels, sacrum, elbows, and under breasts for redness or breakdown, and report what you see. Dry thoroughly between toes and in folds.
Mouth, hair, and nails
Brush teeth or dentures at least twice a day. Dentures go in a labeled cup with water - never in a tissue or on a meal tray where they can be thrown away. For an unresponsive resident, do not put fluids or a toothbrush in the mouth; use a moistened swab. Do not cut the toenails of a resident with diabetes or poor circulation; report instead. Shave in the direction of hair growth.
Dressing
Dress the weak or affected side first, then the strong side; undress the strong side first.
Traps
- Leaving a resident exposed or a door open.
- Using very hot water or not testing it.
- Doing everything for a resident who can help.
- Putting dentures in a tissue or on a food tray.
Rule of thumb
Dress the weak side first, undress the strong side first - and let the resident do the parts they can do.