My father is in the advanced stage of PSP and is increasingly stiff. It is getting harder and harder to dress him. I'm wondering if anyone can recommend any easy on /off clothes they've found helpful. I've been looking at wrist they call 'wheelchair trousers'.... They seem to come in two different styles; drop front or simple elasticated waist. My father is now catheterised so I'm assuming the 'drop front' is no advantage for him. Would be so pleased to hear of helpful things others have found. My father's left arm is incredibly rigid so getting jumpers on and off is hard. Any recommendations gratefully received.
Kind regards from Rachel
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Toothfairy75
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My husband is bedbound and can’t move, what we do is cut anything going overhead up the back, makes very easy to get on and off, but only ok if person not able to move around, otherwise not a good look.
Dad just wore pants with elastic waist and tee shirts mostly as he became more rigid. He has an extremely rigid right arm and it was basically locked across his chest. I would start with that arm, putting it through the sleeve, then other arm and finally pull up to his neck and slip over his head. Getting a size larger will help also, gives a bit more room.
Thanks Ron. Dad has similar issues of extreme rigidity of his left arm and have to start with that one. Think I'll look into the elasticated waist trousers for him. Zip and buttons becoming increasingly difficult for my mother to manage when she's dressing him and helping at the bathroom. Did you find any particular models / styles that you would recommended for the elasticated trousers? Thanks for your kind advice.
If you have a Walmart near by....they have a department for gym clothes...gym pants with elastic waist pants in different styles and colors and sweatshirts to match...they wash well and go in the dryer...my husband lives in them...hope that works for you.
That’s exactly what I do. It takes a bit of manipulation , but it works . I find Soft athletic pants or joggers the easiest . Shirts are a little tough. The softer and stretchier the better.
It was difficult for me to find mostly cotton, which is the only fabric that my husband likes. I found some sweatpants that were mostly cotton, but they had tie strings at the waist. I took the ties out and replaced them with elastic. I did the same thing with 100% cotton scrubs. Another option might be men’s pajama bottoms if he stays mostly indoors?
My husband has the same problems your father has. I buy him comfortable athletic pants with elastic waist. They are usually a smooth synthetic material which slide on fairly easily. Be sure you get them large enough. He wears these daily with a T-shirt and a zip front fleece. No buttons, snaps, or zippers. He has lost a lot of weight and a medium shirt would be plenty big for him now but I still buy size large. It's easier to get on since he is so rigid and can't help with dressing at all.
As far as shoes, he hasn't been able to wear regular shoes for quite some time. It took lots of research, and trial and error, to find shoes that would work. We finally settled on Crocs (swiftwater style). His feet used to be so swollen and since he can't put his own shoes on, they had to be something easy for me to put on him. The foot swelling has since been taken care of but we're still using the Crocs. Kind of sad for a man with several pair of beautiful Italian leather shoes which he'll never wear again. Things change.
Once you find something that works, just buy a number of them. Make it as easy as possible for the caregivers while still helping him look as nice as you can.
We have wonderful slippers for Ian that have velcro which opens the front right up. Bought them on Amazon. He can still take those on and off by himself. Lovely.
Hi,
We used to put my brother in jogging bottoms with elasticated waist but not elastic around ankles as he seemed more comfortable and warm in those. ( M&S did some nice ones)
He preferred tshirts on top. We got polo shirts or the grandad ones with a few buttons to make it easier to get on and off him.
It was still quite difficult but he needed to feel he looked ok even though he was so poorly.
He hated socks so we got some comfy slippers from Asda, he loved them but when he became bed bound we got socks without elastic around the tops (also from M&S)
We always tried to keep his dignity for him.
Good luck and big hugs.
Sue x
Mom would have stayed in her night gown all day... she just hated that she needed assistance getting dressed. Jogging pants with elastic waist, scrubs came in some pretty fabrics which she liked. Lap blankets & lap quilts worked well for awhile when she was able to sit in the wheelchair. I agree larger is better when it comes to tops. Putting a long fuzzy robe on backwards also worked (it keeps sholders warm & doesn't slide off like a blanket can. Sending hugs... Granni B
With his agreement, I just bought David lots of pairs of the Slazenger tracksuit bottoms, the jogging types with the furry lining,and Slazenger polo shirts and sweatshirts from sports direct. Cheap as chips and bought a size or two too big so that they could be pulled off more easily.
He wasn’t standing, so they weren’t going to fall down. It also meant they were easily replaceable when they got stained,as with the dribbles, food spillages and the thickened drink goo going everywhere, the quickly got more messed than washing could cope with!
I am in Minnesota. My husband is very rigid and we still get out to church. Getting a jacket on him was terrible. I just ordered a wool poncho from the UNICEF store.
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