Wheelchair or Seat in Shower: Hi All. A... - PSP Association

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Wheelchair or Seat in Shower

Birdman42 profile image
19 Replies

Hi All. A little advice if you please. We are moving house, our current four bedroom, large garden house is just too much for me to manage and look after My Margaret, who has PSP, properly. Our current en-suite is narrow and we have had it modified to a wet room and it was ideal to fit grab rails either side and a fixed shower seat. Our new en-suite, also a wet room, is a more traditional square design so the fitting of effective grab rails is more problematic. I have heard of wheelchairs specifically for use in showers (with or without commode). Has anybody any comments or advice on wet wheelchairs versus fixed shower seats? Margaret cannot walk unaided. Hope you can advise. Alan

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Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42
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19 Replies
Kasenda profile image
Kasenda

Dear Birdman42, my husband has PSP and we manage very well with a commode shower chair on wheel that can be moved from the bedroom to the bathroom. He sits in it for a shower and also for toileting as the commode goes over the toilet. All the best.

Heady profile image
Heady

Definitely a shower commode!Lots of love

Anne

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toHeady

Thank you for the advice. Looks like a Commode/Shower Chair has it all round. AlaN

Scottoppy profile image
Scottoppy

Hi Birdman A combined commode and shower chair is the answer. e have been in this position when in temporary rented bungalow as we could make no modifications. The one we have is a commode but also has a seat inset for use as a shower chair. The carers found it very good.

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toScottoppy

Thank you for the advice. Looks like a Commode/Shower Chair has it all round. Alan

AJK2001 profile image
AJK2001

Definitely a shower commode on wheels. Made life so much easier, fewer transfers, safer, they can come with seat belts which might be needed in the future to help hold the person in position and that hole in the seat means you can get at some awkward places easier! Do make sure you get one that fits. We had to change Mum's because she lost so much weight the original one became dangerous as she could literally fall down the hole in the middle! Luckily the carers alerted me before we had a nasty accident and OTs quickly changed it for us. They also come with different amounts of padding, some are very hard which can be uncomfortable for a bony bum!Good luck with the move, hope the new place works out well for you both

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toAJK2001

Thank you for the advice. Looks like a Commode/Shower Chair has it all round I will look out for the padding. Alan

AliBee1 profile image
AliBee1

HiWe had a wheelable shower chair that had a commode that could be removed. Nigel used to fall sideways so after one fall out of the chair we managed to get a wheelable commode chair where the arms lifted up, not sideways. It worked very well. It saves all the hard work of transfer and is far safer. You cannot use them if there is a lip round the shower area. Good luck AliBee

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toAliBee1

Thank you for the advice. Looks like a Commode/Shower Chair has it all round I will investigate the arms. Alan

Jimjam22 profile image
Jimjam22

Hi Birdman 42, I had a solid plastic shower chair with wheels, it was like a wheelchair with built in commode, it did very well for my Mum who had psp as long as there was no lip to go up on entering a room, it did the job great, I did think about a fitted seat to the wall, but I just didn't trust one, this chair made it feel more safe, it had arms on that you could simply move up out of the way, I bought it on amazon, hope that helps xx

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toJimjam22

Thanks for the reply. Do you know the brand/model of chair? Alan

Jimjam22 profile image
Jimjam22 in reply toBirdman42

Hi there, i have just had a look, I bought it off the internet, I just googled mobile shower chairs, it was from n r s healthcare it was a mobile shower commode chair hope that helps i am in th e uk.

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toJimjam22

Thanks. We are UK as well. Alan

Jimjam22 profile image
Jimjam22 in reply toBirdman42

Just out of interest, where about because I still have this commode, if you were near you could have it x

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toJimjam22

We live between Portsmouth and Southampton

Martina_MP profile image
Martina_MP

Yes it gets tough to transfer to a fixed seat and people may tend to keel over sideways or lean forward suddenly, so hinged armrests that raise are very helpful on the commode wheelchair. The commode bucket slides out (we leave it off as we don't use it as a commode yet--my mother uses the toilet still) and the commode opening allows access for cleaning of the 'undercarriage'. 😊

Birdman42 profile image
Birdman42 in reply toMartina_MP

Thanks this is very helpful. Do you know the brand/model you bought? Alan

Jimjam22 profile image
Jimjam22

Oh no, I'm in Yorkshire that's a shame, well I hope you get sorted out x

Debspottery1 profile image
Debspottery1

It depends on the strength of the person to be able to hold on and balance themselves. The PVC and netting chairs are safer in my opinion, and you can use a seat belt and some towels to help support. A slippery wet person who cannot sit up is very difficult to bathe for one care giver.

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