How to wash an elderly patient’s hair without causing distress

REDRUTH, U.K. - April 5, 2013 - PRLog -- f you are a carer or nurse you’ve probably experienced the difficulty and upset when washing or cleaning a bed bound or dementia patient. The anger, the tears, the confusion… let’s face it, it’s not pleasant and can lead to an extremely difficult situation.

Thanks to Nilaqua® and Gloveman Supplies Ltd we can now show you how to make those experiences more manageable and less stressful on the patient.

Let’s consider shampooing a patient’s hair. Instead of hauling them from their comfortable bed or chair, upsetting their stability and making them nervous or confused, you simply take the Nilaqua® 200ml No Rinse Shampoo and apply a small amount directly to the patient’s hair, as you would with a traditional shampoo. The beauty of this product is you don’t have to wet it first.

From here you gently massage the liquid into the patient’s hair, forming a lather that cleans the hair without leaving any streaks or sticky residues. The liquid is a mild non-irritating formula, Alcohol and Paraben free, pH balanced and leaves hair beautifully soft and clean. Its kind and gently to the scalp and skin and doesn’t dry it out.

Once the lather is established and the hair has been thoroughly massaged, take a clean, dry towel and simply towel the hair dry as you would when you leave the bath or shower.
Make sure you towel every area where the lather has formed, and when finished you will noticeably see the difference to the patient’s hair and the dirt and residue is left on the drying towel.

So to break it down here’s a bulleted guide.

1.   Leave the patient where they are most comfortable.
2.   Apply the a small amount of Nilaqua® 200ml No Rinse Shampoo to the patient’s head of hair.
3.   Massage into the hair as you would a traditional shampoo.
4.   Make sure all the hair is covered and massaged as possible.
5.   Once covered, take a clean, dry towel and towel dry.
6.   Ensure all the lather is removed and the hair will be left clean, streak and residue free.

A video guide is also available at http://www.gloveman.co.uk/acatalog/Waterless-Cleaning.html