Care at home: tips for caring for bedridden relatives
Do you also have a relative in need of care that you look after at home? Many people in Germany care for a relative at home in addition to their own family life, job and leisure time.
How many people in need of care in Germany are cared for at home by relatives?
According to the Federal Statistical Office, 2.1 million people with care degrees 2 to 5 were cared for at home by relatives alone at the end of 2019. That is more than half of all 4.1 million people in need of care across Germany. Of these, 72,700 people had the most severe impairments with special requirements for nursing care and thus nursing care grade 5.1
Particularly for people in need of care with care level 5, the care is not done with just one visit a day. They usually need all-round care. And as much as you enjoy being there for your loved one and caring for them, it means extra work. It's not only mentally exhausting, but physically exhausting as well.
From my years of experience as a registered health care professional (nurse), I know how much of a strain it is on family members. I myself have worked in outpatient care in addition to my work in a hospital. Therefore, I would like to give you a few small tips and ideas for their everyday care.
How can the everyday life of bedridden people look like with the Club2 Mobil care chair?
Body care for people in need of care with severe impairments
Most people who can only spend their lives in bed are also washed completely in bed. However, this is quite tedious for the caregiver. Especially with the upper body, this means frequent turning and lifting. If you do this alone every day, it quickly puts a strain on your back. I would like to show you how I would make body care a little easier on the back with the Club2 Mobil nursing chair.
It is advantageous to wash the lower part of the body in bed as usual. Mobilising your relative directly from bed and caring for the entire body while seated makes it much more difficult for you. You would have to work on your knees, which costs you a lot of strength.
1. wash lower body as usual in bed.
Prepare everything as usual for body care. Before you start washing in bed, talk to your relative and tell him that you would like to wash him now.
Always start washing with your hands. This is especially important as it sends the signal to the brain that personal hygiene is now beginning. If we think about ourselves: our hands always come into contact with the water first, too. After that you can start with the body care.
Washing and caring for the legs and intimate area is much easier on the back in bed. That is why it makes sense to wash your lower body in bed. Make sure that the nursing bed is high enough and that you can stand upright on the bed. Always use a second washcloth for the lower part of the body. After washing and applying lotion, dress the lower part of the body in bed in a way that is easy on the back.
A little tip: To protect the bed from getting wet, place an extra towel or disposable pad in advance under the part of the body you are about to wash.
2. care of the upper body in the raising chair
You can now place your relative in the Club2 Mobil to wash their upper body. Pull the armrest out of the chair. Place the patient at the edge of the bed. Now bring the bed to the same height as the seat of the chair. Now you can easily move your patient.
Tip: Using a sliding board makes repositioning even easier. Place one side on the seat of the chair and carefully slide the other side under the patient's bottom. This makes it easy for you to slide your relative onto the chair. Simply ask at a medical supply store near you.
For more safety when sitting, now reattach the armrest. Move your relative to a comfortable sitting position. Push the chair to a table using the push handle. Provide the wash bowl with fresh water and the necessary utensils for the care of the upper body. You may even be able to wash the upper body in the bathroom at the sink due to the transportation.
By sitting in the chair, you can now undress the upper body without having to laboriously turn your loved one to do so. In addition, it is much easier for you to wash and apply lotion while sitting. And brushing your teeth and combing your hair can perhaps even be done partly independently.
Tip: While washing, place your loved one's hands in the wash bowl with the warm water. Let them "splash" around in it for a while. This loosens up the finger muscles and is fun. ????
The Club2 Mobil is also available completely in imitation leather. This means that the chair can be wiped and disinfected and does not allow moisture to penetrate. Washing is therefore no problem here and your loved one does not sit in the wet afterwards.
Eating while sitting
Eating in bed can become a real challenge. The patient slides down in bed or , in the worst case, chokes.
Tip: However, if eating is only possible in bed, it helps to move the footrest up a little. This acts like a slip brake. In this way, the head section can be moved up far enough. The danger of swallowing is reduced.
However, if it works physically, it is much more comfortable for the patient to eat while seated. The Club2 Mobil makes it possible to eat with the upper body upright and to sit at the table with the whole family. If you have the Club2 Mobil with a woven fabric cover, you can protect it from stains by using the slipcovers in the matching colour. The imitation leather cover can be easily wiped clean.
A nap in the recliner saves you the hassle of repositioning
Do you move your loved one back into bed for a midday nap? With the Club2 Mobile this is no longer necessary. You can simply move your loved one to the reclining position while sitting in the chair. If you bend the footrest slightly, you can prevent them from slipping out of the chair.
Tip: With the lumbar cushion from the accessories you can, for example, expose the heels when lying down. This protects the heels better from pressure points.
The care chair can help you to regularly change the position of the patient. To do this, simply use the various options for sitting and lying positions that you can set at the touch of a button. People with severe impairments move little or not at all. This can quickly lead to reddening of the exposed parts of the body. Therefore, please pay close attention to the skin several times a day in order to quickly detect redness. Be sure to protect these areas from pressure.
Only regular repositioning with pillows or towels and changing the sitting and lying position can prevent pressure sores.
If a small mishap happens while sleeping in the chair or the incontinence care slips, you can protect the seat surface from moisture with incontinence pads. You get the pads in a set of 2. This way you can always wash one pad while the other one is lying on the armchair.
The Saljol Club2 Mobile nursing chair promotes participation in family life and provides for variety.
If your relative lives in your household or the family comes to visit, many bedridden people are quite isolated in their bed. With the Club2 Mobil, you can bring your relative in need of care right into the middle of the "family hustle and bustle". The wheels, the push handle and the battery pack as accessories make it easy to transport one person.
Tip: You can also equip the armchair with a rechargeable battery . This way you can move the armchair freely around the room and don't have a cable lying around as a tripping hazard.
Not only can you enable your relatives to participate in family life, but you can also enjoy the outdoors by transporting them to the terrace or balcony. And thanks to the reclining function, you can now also offer bedridden people more variety in everyday life.
Conclusion on the daily care routine with the Club2 Mobile
In principle, the entire day can be spent in the care chair. Personal hygiene, eating, watching TV, sleeping, talking to the family, enjoying nature, playing games, reading and much more - everything is possible in the Club2 Mobil care chair. Thanks to the many positioning options, the protective covers, the incontinence pads and the transport option, you can make the everyday life of your bedridden relatives more varied. And you are spared frequent transfers to other aids.
But also for people with a lower degree of care, the Club2 Mobil recliner is a great relief in everyday life. Thanks to the removable armrests and the stand-up function, many people can independently slide onto the Club2 Mobil stand-up chair, the (electric) wheelchair or into bed.
Our encourager Peter Spendler was also enthusiastic about our Club2 Mobil. Since a stroke he suffers from a one-sided paralysis. He was very happy to be able to get out of the chair and onto the bed on his own.
Let us make your daily care routine easier. Use the Club2 Mobil as a change from lying in bed. Enable your relatives in need of care to participate more in family life. And protect their back by less frequent transfers to other aids.
1) (Source: DESTATIS Federal Statistical Office press release no. N083)
Club2 Mobil: The armchair for everyday nursing care
Highlights
- Ideal for bedridden patients
- Wipe-disinfectable and water repellent
- Removable armrests: For transfer from bed to chair
- Can be combined with rechargeable battery as an accessory: No tripping hazards due to cables
- Large wheels
- Push handle for patient transport
