Taking clothes off

[Lancs]

This is the first time I've written on this forum, but I read it every month and have found the stories to be of great help and support. So thank you everyone.

My father has had vascular dementia for 3 1/2 years now. My sister and I have had to move him from nursing home to CH and back to a nursing home last year (he has recently declined probably due to an infection whilst at the CH, hence the move again)
My dad seems fine, however I'm concerned as he keeps taking his clothes off. It started with just getting dressed ( usually the wrong way round) then undressed, shoes off then on. Now he takes all his clothes off and wonders around.
The nursing home have taken all his clothes out of his wardrobe (we have to go hunting for them when we visit) to stop him tripping on them and him getting stressed re dressing himself.
I went to visit him last week and found him curled up on his bed wrapped in the bed sheet naked. It was so upsetting.
Can anyone advise me as to why my father does this? Is it stress or a stage of dementia? What can I do to help my dad?
I live 210 miles away but go up to visit him for a week most months, also my sisiter visits every other weekend ( she live 120miles away) he's always happy to see us and perks up no end although he is sleeping a lot and very slow on his feet.
Thank you

 

[Witzend]

hello - I'm so sorry you have all this worry with your dad. One thing that does occur to me is the one-piece suits which are sometimes recommended for people with incontinence who keep removing their pads. They fasten entirely down the back so that the person is unable to remove them. However I realise that you may well not feel that they are appropriate, or your dad might be distressed or agitated if he can't get his clothes off. It's very difficult. I forget the name of those suits but I'm sure someone will know, if you should be interested.

 

[Fred Flintstone]

This is the first time I've written on this forum, but I read it every month and have found the stories to be of great help and support. So thank you everyone. ...

Welcome to TP, Lancs, I hope you'll find some help here. (I'm fairly new to all this too.)

Fred

 

[DIANE69]

Hello
My husband had Vascular Dementia and he went through this stage.He was at home with me and every afternoon he would start taking his clothes off. He would start with jumper then shirt often ripping off the buttons then his trousers again ripping at the fastenings if he could not undo them.At first I tried to stop him but it was impossible.If I redressed him he would just do it again.In the end I found that if I ignored the tops coming off then he would content himself with just opening his trousers but leave them on if I managed to distract him.As we were at home it did not matter but he did try to do it at the day centre and they did not have a issue with the top half coming off.It was just a phase and he stopped doing it after about 2 months

 

[marmarlade]

my husband has gone in to care but when he was home he was always taking his shoes off and putting them back on this went on day and night then it went to taking off his glasses, next thing he was taking out his teeth all this was repeated day and night,in the 3 weeks he has been in care he has lost 2 pairs of glasses and his teeth ,i think the dementia affects different people different ways but it is so upsetting to see loved ones like this

 

[Fred Flintstone]

My father's done this a small number of times. Not too much of an embarrassment so far. Last time he simply went for a wash and then re-dressed.

 

[Lancs]

Thank you all. From your comments this hopefully this is a passing phase. I just hope that it wasn't some sort of stress due to his surroundings and situation that was causing the undressing. We all want the best for our loved ones.