I don't know Bev, but the grout in out bathroom is getting stained from just the urine on it. I think I have heard of a grout stain/sealer and I have been going to ask at Lowes or Home Depot it I ever get a chance to get there.
There are special grout cleaning and sealing products--the grout is first cleaned then a sealant is applied to keep things from soaking into the grout. You can buy them at Home Depot or Lowes or there are companies that specialize in the work--google tile and grout cleaning and the name of your city. Another alternative would be to buy a steam cleaning machine like this http://www.amazon.com/McCulloch-MC-1275-Heavy-Duty-Steam-Cleaner/dp/B0000DF0RB/
Thanks, ladies. I guess I should have done this when it first began to happen. Now, pieces of grout are coming out and the tiles are beginning to crack. It looks like I'm going to have to get a new floor. When I ask him to please tell me when this happens, he looks so sheepish and ashamed, I feel guilty for even bringing it up.
Thanks jang, for reminding me why I need to keep some real underwear on hand. I have no idea how the funerary process goes. Do you need a full set of nice clothes if the plan is cremation? Can you believe I'm asking this?
Bev, I would get the tile up and put down CHEAP vinyl for the duration. It's so easy to clean up and can be changed out later. They make a soft, cushioned vinyl that is not glued down- just goes under the edging. I put it in my kitchen and it's wonderful.
sorry to hear you have to deal with this Bev. you can have a peice of vinyl like vickie suggests cut to fit around the toilet area. and use throw away pads to help with the mess. unfortunately no they dont comprehend that they should allow us to help. it will probably be ongoing at this point, so take measures so you dont have all the cleaning on your knees. or if you can afford it, have a cleaning person to come in to do a super cleanup however often you can afford it in between. like suggested above there are grout products to help repair and seal the damage. divvi
Claude passed away at home. Hospice notified everyone that needed to be notified. The funeral home came and took him with just his pj's on and they took him to the crematorium. There was no viewing. We had a memorial service at our church later and took his ashes to Oklahoma to be buried in the family plot.
Vicki (and divvi), I did have the idea in my mind about the vinyl flooring as I was cleaning the floor. It won't look as nice as the tile floor but I guess in this case ease of cleaning trumps beauty, doesn't it? Thanks for your suggestion.
Hugs to you redbud. Divvi, I am giving my title of "poop queen" to Fiona. Fiona, Divvi gave me the crown not too long ago....and too willingly, I might add. Fiona, take it please!
Gee, thanks, but I'd rather pass. I just don't feel worthy of the 'honor' - and hope I never will! I am, however making notes about finding grout cleaner/sealer and vinyl flooring to put in the bathroom as I'm assuming that is in my not-too-distant future. :)
We are going through a bout of my husband having had a bowel impaction from constipation. After two days of stool softeners, 2 bottles of magnesium citrate and two enemas things started moving explosively last night around midnight. Had to shower him three times plus multiple cleanings in between. He really didn't like me getting him up when he was dirty, but he couldn't lay in that. One time the pad on the bed was dirty from his bottom all the way up to his neck. It was nasty and yucky, but I really didn't mind so much because I was just so happy he was going. The crazy things that make us happy!!
Now starting on a regimen of metamucil, fruits and veggies and stool softeners. Also, a hospice nurse told me that 4 ounces of prune juice mixed with 4 ounces of orange juice and then warmed was a great natural laxative. They use it for hospice patients who can become constipated from morphine. Going to give him that once a day. I don't want him (or me) to go through this again if we can help it. His abdomen was so bloated he looked pregnant and I had taken him to the VA emergency room to be checked. Xrays showed it was just stool and all bloodwork was normal. They have given me a bunch of supplies to use if he becomes constipated again.
I hear you Deb! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever be as concerned as I am about someone's BM's! Relief when they go does cause happiness, crazy or not lol
We just started Lynn on MiraLax after the more natural approaches didn't work. So far so good.... I hope you find the right cocktail for your DH.
deb, dh is still home and was having regular BM's every day. Then it became every other day and I was ok wih that. Now it's sometimes every 3 days and I'm not ok with that. so based on my own experience when I am hospitalized my body refuses to have a bowel movement in a bed pan, I started giving dh prune juice in am and a few "dried plums" (he won't eat prunes, hah!) in the afternoon. Works like a charm. You gotta love those prunes! Natural is the best if you can make it work.
Ps the aides say "he poops like an elephant" which I don't doubt after 3 days! Now to have my spetic cleaned of "elephant dung"!
The "natural" remedies do nothing for Sid. He is on a lot of narcotic meds. for his various pain issues, so he is always backed up. Experience forces me to issue a warning here. If you are using laxatives and stool softeners, use LESS stool softeners and MORE laxatives. As if the first lesson wasn't enough, it took me TWO incidents of cleaning floors, walls, toilets, AND him, until I figured out that too many stool softeners are not a good idea.
Joan, how many stool softeners did you give? I gave DH two tonight. I need to know what to expect in the morning.....or maybe in the middle of the night?
Another example of our loved ones being so different. I find in the later stages that yes laxatives are needed to stimulate a BM, BUT, that does no good at all if the stool is too hard or large to pass. On day 3 they kept pushing more and more laxatives, it took me talking til I was blue in the face to make them understand that Stimulating him more and more when he was unable to pass the stool was doing nothing but causing him intense pain! His trouble was he needed the help of the softener to make it possible to pass. It's tricky finding the right mix for our loved ones.
The doctor had placed my husband on a medication that is a stool softener and a laxative. When he was blocked up, he got four a day. Two in the morning and two in the evening. The enemas were to loosen the bottom and everything else was to work from the top down. That's how it was explained to me at the ER.
The function of the large intestine is to reabsorb water, so the longer stool sits in the LI, the more water is reabsorbed from it and the more petrified it gets. If a plug of stool has been sitting in the rectum for several days sometimes the only way to open things up is to get in there with a gloved fingers and manually extract it. Nurses and doctors know how to do this, but they would much rather try to let nature take its course. None of this is pretty which is why figuring out what combination of stool softeners and laxatives are necessary to keep things open. Also, the bowel is stimulated by body movement so the more a person walks, bends, twists, etc, the less likely the bowel is to be sluggish. This is why patients who are very inactive or bedridden have constipation problems. Some medications are constipating too, which only adds another layer to this problem. I am amazed at the problem solving skills that the more experienced caregivers have on this site and this is definitely a case in point.
i agree with you nikki. and marche said it well. if the poop is petrifiying in the colon after a few days, it will not move usually on its own. a manual extraction if about the only way to get moving again to unplug the colon. no not pretty at all but our loved ones have a very painful lower bottom if we dont make it happen. i used so many different types of laxs and softeners as well. if they arent getting alot of movement as marche says, a daily dose of softener ie say senokot S *make sure S as its got the softeners in it, the other doesnt!) should keep them regular. if like nikkis, lynn and my dh who are hard cases, haha, then more dramatic regimens are necessary. i know there is discussion on pros cons of miralax but in my very difficult daily issues with dh its worked like a miracle. daily half dose is keeping him constant and is working nicely. if there isnt alot of difficulty yet some of the more natural remedies should work for now. divvi
Just wanted to drop in on this thread. My guy, when he left for the hospital in mid December, though he was getting very urinary incontinent, was still going poop in the toilet. Now, it has only been just 3 months, and he cannot even tell when he has to go to the bathroom. Soaked depends and when he goes poop, it is just where he sits or lays. It seems his parkinson type symptoms have taken away any sensation down there.
Now I have had some time to not do the heavy caregiving, I do entertain thoughts of him spending his last days at home. However, not yet. It is easy to think I can handle it as he does not walk anymore, but, you know, constant changing and cleaning is a big challenge, and I give a big kudos to you loving wives and husbands. I will bring him home when it is truly the end stage.
After just reading through these comments, I agree with Lulliebird - I don't know how I will ever do that! Just the thought makes me cringe. When my kids were babies, it worked out for us - hubs cleaned up the puke, and I cleaned up the poop! The thought of adult poopy messes....aaarrgghh!!!!
When it stays in the Depends its a breeze. When he gets to the bathroom and then misses the toilet and it hits the seat, runs down the side, on the floor and even splashed on the wall , then I get a little "irritated" use your own description.
Coco had a good suggestion that I used and found it very helpful for poor aim at the toilet. Purchase the pads that are used for the bed that are kind of like paper and not very expensive. Cut them to fit around the bottom of the toliet and use blue painters tape to run the pad up the base of the toilet to catch most anything from going on the floor. Also they can be removed easily. This helps with most of the poor aims and messes they make and can be easily thrown away.
Hi Mim, a million years ago, 2 friends and I spoke of bowel incontinence. We all agreed that we didn't think we could cope with it. When the time came, all 3 of us handled it. You will too. We are all braver and stronger than we can imagine.
jang*, I suppose you're right. I've been told that I'm a strong person & I just do what needs to be done- I hope that holds true when "that" time comes! :)
It will, Mimi. I didn't think I would be able to do it. By the time it happened, it just seemed to be another job. It didn't bother me at all. Hang in there. It is not an easy road as you already know.
In April I placed DH in an ALF due due falling and seizure-like spells. That has gotten better but lately he has been giving aides a hard time with bathing and changing. I come every day and several times have found him with BM in his depends and on his private parts. I do not mind cleaning him or showering him, I need to know that he gets cleaned when I am not here. I plan to see the director tomorrow