Help? I can't use paper to clean myself and need advice to change a wet room.

[beauty96]

Does anyone on here have the problem I have in that I cannot use toilet paper to clean? It is because I had a lot of steroid cream that has thinned the skin. They kept saying it was eczema when it was undigested milk fat that burnt my bottom. Point is I have a wet room and changing it. I can't have a shower stall cos I can't sit on it. Have looked for a small bath as I can sit on the side but can't find one to have a shower over the top. Anyone any ideas please? [Had the problem since 1992, sitting on the edge of a bath in the day time also means I do not have to fully get undressed]. I can't climb stairs now so trying to change the wet room we inherited from the previous owners.

[teadrinker]

Have you had an occupational therapist come out to look at your wet room? They can assess the situation and might be able to suggest some adaptations or equipment. Look up social services in your phone book (do people still have these?!) and ask to be referred.

Good luck

[beauty96 in reply to teadrinker]

Yes and they could not help at all apart from providing a stool to sit on. I also asked social services and no help there. There must be a small bath somewhere and not found yet.

[Hidden]

Hello

I have PA and I had to stop using steriod creams and others it was weakening and thinning skin on all of my body so I had to stop using them. Now the skin is thickening again, it has taken about five years

BOB

[earthwitch]

you should be able to get one of those padded shower chairs that has like a toilet seat cutout in the middle - its what people with spinal cord injuries would use, because they have to be ultracareful about pressure in the wrong places. Also, have you considered a bidet? Along the same lines, you can actually get padded toilet seats with cutouts to the side that can allow you to get your hand underneath you (again for spinal cord injury) so you might find that you can set up a way to wash yourself while you are still sitting on the toilet (a bowl of warm water at the ready, as they do in asia). It might be worth investigating (ask your local community nurse who deals with elderly incontinence) whether there are any very gentle and soft wipes that could be used, as they will be a lot better than toilet paper. Getting your bowels working right so that you have well formed motions that are firm enough that they don't "smear" will also help reduce the need to have to scrub yourself too often. And on that note, if you had problems with undigested milk, then have you actually been tested for coeliac disease? That can cause malabsorption problems, sometimes ending up with very sticky and smelly poos (sorry, tmi), but once on a gluten free diet everything comes right again - including the lactose intolerance. You do need to be eating a full gluten containing diet until they have finished testing though (blood test first, and if that is positive, then an endoscopy and biopsy).

I definitely would also try OT again, but see if you can get someone else to come and do the assessment.

[beauty96 in reply to earthwitch]

Hi and yes I do have coeliac disease and had it since I was two in 1944, not diagnosed till 1994 after I did some work. No wheat, dairy, gluten, alcohol, herbs, spices, onions, beetroot, pineapple, bananas, tuna and am on a low fat diet cos the pancreas does not put out enough enzymes to digest it. Having said that I do take enzymes from the GP and multivits from GP plus several things I buy myself. I am a danger to myself according to social services. That is why I studied medicine and gained my PhD at 60 apart from being an accountant, lawyer and teacher of the subjects much later on. But I still need help and this forum is the only place and FB I can get the help.

[earthwitch in reply to beauty96]

if you are still having problems, you might want to get your doctor to repeat the coeliac blood tests - it will show if you are getting hidden gluten in your diet that you might not be realising. As you know, very little gluten can keep your body in a bad state. Also thoroughly check the ingredients of any of those vitamins and supplements for gluten. Also make sure you check with your GP about the other things you are buying for yourself. Sometimes wrong combinations can cause more problems than they help.

[Hidden]

Would a bidet not be more practical? they were designed for washing the derriere.

[beauty96 in reply to Hidden]

did try it many years ago way back around 1992, but did not feel clean. We have a semi detached house and the neighbours bought a load of properties in Turkey. Well they wanted to move and houses cost around £50,000 for four bedrooms in Skegness. We offered £123,000 and they jumped at it. Even have a music room as well. So we expanded my husband has amateur radio and writes, I have a room for massages etc so we spread. Taking over this wet room seemed great till I realised I could not sit on the bath edge...cos there wasn't on. Getting upstairs is painful though have to do it now. trying to find a way out. It is horrid not being like others who just do.....even my diet is a mess of no this and no that.

[Kerryjess]

Have you tried the toilet wet wipes available from most supermarkets? I find them easier than toilet paper and carry them with me everywhere. There is a portable bidet pan that you can set on the toilet to wash yourself. It's available from suppliers of disability aids online. Also, I pointed out my difficulty in this area because of being unable to reach round to the back properly and was told by a health panel that there was a toilet available which washes and dries then bottom using blown air! I have done some reseat online and they are available but cost anything from £1300 upwards. Needless to say, I haven't replaced my standard toilet yet, but I could be tempted! Have you said to your doctor about your difficulty? He/she should be able to speak to OT if necessary so don't give up in that area. Sitting on the bath is not the safest option, at least for me it isn't. Hope you get some success, as I know how frustrating and embarrassing this particular topic can be. Xoxo

[solowheelie]

i saw on TV the other day a toilet that washed and dried one's bum - i would love one but just about manage at the moment. There are stools for the shower that are more like a loo seat i wonder if this would work rather than changing everything round xx

[spongemuffin]

what about trying a bidet to help the cleaning process? It might also help to soothe your bottom. You can buy

bidets that fit on your toilet seat. By the way, what is a wet room?

[beauty96]

wet room means a basin and toilet but also a shower that has no base, just the floor in our case and I am told it is a wet room. Beyond that I don't know. Bidet, yes I did try back in 1980's and again did not feel clean. That is why I am trying to change this room to suit me, it has a downstairs bedroom and so I can sleep downstairs until we can afford a stair lift.

[pinktiger53]

What about a soft good quality disposable dry wipes as used in care homes ( or washable cloths like muslins - bamboo or cotton) with coconut oil. This would clean without abrasion - then rinse with plain water and pat dry with a muslin if it helped you feel cleaner.

[Ydontujustdie]

Have you looked at a Japanese toilet seat? They are listed on eBay as bidets and although they cost a fortune in a retail shop they go for £300 to £700 and you May be able to have the vat removed from this. You get a full wash and on some models a blow dry. The temp and pressure is adjustable and you feel completely clean and comfy afterwards. I used one when I was on drug trials which gve me explosive diarrhoea and my bum felt like a dragons nostril. Toilet paper was agonising and would make me bleed. The plumbing in was easy but you need a power supply available. Alternatively have a shataff fitted next to the toilet. It's a small shower on a hose used in cultures who's religion or sewers cannot process tissue. These cost a few pounds on eBay and are very useful for cleaning yourself and the toilet