Creating Moments of Joy for the Person with Alzheimer's or Dementia by Jolene Brackey

Author:Jolene Brackey
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781557534620
Publisher: Purdue University Press

Newfound Ringing

Where’s

the Outhouse?

Bathroom habits and problems bring up a delicate, particularly humbling, concern for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Here’s an illustration to help you understand the dilemma—and ideas for making this easier.

When Henry wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom he sees two doors—one with a light under it and another door that is dark. He chooses the one with the light. As he walks into the hallway he sees lots of doors and gets confused. In the confusion, he realizes he can’t hold it any longer.

One of the main reasons people with dementia are incontinent is because they cannot find the bathroom. They simply cannot remember where it is. A person with dementia only knows what he sees right now. If he doesn’t see it, he cannot use it. Verbal reminders alone are not enough because of their short-term memory loss. Changes in the environment can make all the difference.

Suggested Changes

• Make water in toilet blue so men SEE where they are supposed to hit

• Make the bathroom look and feel like a bathroom in your home, with pretty towels, decorative pictures, a picture of an outhouse, and soap bars

• Have a night light on in the bathroom. People with dementia walk where they are able to see

• Leave the bathroom door open so they can see the toilet. They need to see the toilet to know that is the bathroom

• Replace the toilet seat with a color different than the floor color

• Paint the wall behind the toilet a midrange color so the toilet stands out from the wall

• Paint the door to look like an outhouse door

• Paint a half moon on the door (outhouse symbol)

• Paint the bathroom door a different color from the other doors and adjacent wall. Then you can easily say, “It is the white door over there.” A person with dementia keeps color definition far into the disease. The bathroom doors should be a color that is different than the bedroom doors

• Place the toilet paper in direct view

Is there a mirror in the bathroom? Yes, of course. Every bathroom has a mirror, right? For a person with dementia, a large mirror in the bathroom might present some problems. Because the person doesn’t recognize his own reflection when he walks in the bathroom, he may not want to use it. His perception might be that a stranger is in the bathroom. If the mirror is large and square, it may seem like someone is peeking through the window (mirror) at him.

Also try using their everyday bathroom terms. “It’s time to use the outhouse, privy, lavatory, etc.?” They may never have called it a toilet or bathroom so they don’t understand what you are saying.

Bathroom clichés

Often, a person with dementia is accustomed to a particular cliché, rather than directly communicating his need to use the bathroom. Here are some common clichés:

“I gotta see a man about the horse.”

“I have to shake the rattle snake.”

“I need a duck.”

“I need to water the bushes/trees.

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