Mum's falls & itchiness!

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
So mum had not had a fall for 10 days and I was feeling really quite optimistic. We had a meeting with mum's social worker and the head nurse in charge of mum's ward. The home really want mum to have 1 to 1 care at night but the social worker says the bar is set high for approval of that type of care. The home needs to show that they have tried everything they can to reduce her risk of falls. She now has a bed monitor, a commode next to the bed and a fall pendant. The trouble is she had begun to wander at night, she sometimes gets very little sleep because of her need to walk around constantly. The ratio at night is 1 to 10 so I appreciate it is a challenge for the home. I have found a home that has a ratio of 1-4 and is carpeted however, it is more expensive and the rooms are not as large and do not have en-suite bathrooms, just lavatories. The social services will pay £700 a week but the home is £1100 a week.

One question, does anyone here have a loved one who complains of itchiness all the time? It has become a constant complaint of mum's. She want's to put talc or cream on all the time to alleviate it, I fear it has become something of a compulsion.

Sending good wishes to you all...
 

Toony Oony

Registered User
Jun 21, 2016
576
0
Hi @JoJo2821
Just a thought but could the washing powder used at the CH be aggravating Mum's skin? If so, I'm not sure what the solution could be. It's just that certain well known brands of washing detergent I am unable to use as they irritate me in all the places where they rub against skin ( think cuffs, waistbands etc). Perhaps do what Ducky did and check for redness and scratching marks which should indicate if it is perceived or a real itch!
Also, my Mum and several others at her CH have taken to wandering at night during this lengthy period of hot weather. They cannot sleep because it's hot and sticky, so they go walkabout. Then they are tired and sleep during the day ....ergo body clocks are all out.
Probably no use to you at all but just maybe .....

X
 

karaokePete

Registered User
Jul 23, 2017
6,534
0
N Ireland
My wife gets the itch thing and has been tearing lumps out of herself for months. I tried everything and it was finally put down to a drug side effect a few days ago. The itch seems to have gone but so has the benefit of the drug. Can we ever win?
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Hi JoJo2821

If only things were straightforward when dealing with care costs and all the rest, at a time when so much help is needed yet it’s like a ‘fog to most of us - I hope you manage to ge things sorted.

Anyway, my late lovely mum developed an absolute obsession about her itching - I was taking in loads of talcum powder into her care home - she complained about it all the time and insisted on wearing her cotton pants,vests & nighties inside out as she reckoned the seams made her itch. Not that she had any ‘scratching marks’ on her...I just used to take her the talc anyway (which was always on her weekly list of things she used to give me!) she certainly loved her talcum powder !!

Oh Ducky that has given me a laugh! I reckon mum gets through about a bottle of Johnson's Baby Powder every 2 weeks.... she leaves a constant trail of dust and white powder behind her wherever she goes. I gave her a good dusting of it tonight before I left - I wish I'd bought shares in it, that and Deep Heat embrocation which mum clearly believes possesses healing properties!
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
My wife gets the itch thing and has been tearing lumps out of herself for months. I tried everything and it was finally put down to a drug side effect a few days ago. The itch seems to have gone but so has the benefit of the drug. Can we ever win?
Ouch, that is awful Pete .... luckily mum doesn't actually break the skin but I did wonder about her drug regimen. Which one was it? Mum has epilepsy too and is on quite a few meds for that.
 

marionq

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
6,449
0
Scotland
Use E45 Itch Relief cream or Avon Skin so Soft spray oil on the itchy area. She might also need an antihistamine. Loratidine and similar did not help my husband so he was put on Phenergan which is a strong antihistamine and also would make her sleep during the night.

Use only Simple soap and shampoo. No fancy smelling products and I would never use talc as it builds up and causes other problems.
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
I had terribly itchy ankles this year myself, which turned out to be due to a drug interaction :rolleyes:

Mum had a very itchy spell a couple of years ago - it used to drive me crazy, as well as her. Turned out to be due to an acute kidney inflammation, which was cured by antibiotics and IV fluids. She hadn’t been drinking nearly enough.....could this apply in your mum’s case, I wonder?
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Hi @JoJo2821
Just a thought but could the washing powder used at the CH be aggravating Mum's skin? If so, I'm not sure what the solution could be. It's just that certain well known brands of washing detergent I am unable to use as they irritate me in all the places where they rub against skin ( think cuffs, waistbands etc). Perhaps do what Ducky did and check for redness and scratching marks which should indicate if it is perceived or a real itch!
Also, my Mum and several others at her CH have taken to wandering at night during this lengthy period of hot weather. They cannot sleep because it's hot and sticky, so they go walkabout. Then they are tired and sleep during the day ....ergo body clocks are all out.
Probably no use to you at all but just maybe .....

X
No that is of use Toony - it's comforting to hear that others are experiencing something similar. My main reason for coming on this board is to talk to others who know what dementia is really like because until you experience it you can't possibly know how completely it works it's way into every part of your loved ones life. I also felt that it may have something to do with the heat. On Thursday morning I woke mum up to find her sleeping in a thick roll neck sweater and a blanket on top of her. She was drenched in perspiration, the carers often say "Well she really wanted to wear that top" and then give me a lecture on how they have to respect the PWD's autonomy. But sometimes I feel they don't want to make the effort to persuade her otherwise, it's just easier to say yes. It reminds me of when I say yes to my kids sometimes when I know I should be saying no. It's when I am exhausted I'll let them have the fizzy drink or the i-pad time because I don't have the energy for a disagreement.
What washing powders effected you the most?
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
I had terribly itchy ankles this year myself, which turned out to be due to a drug interaction :rolleyes:

Mum had a very itchy spell a couple of years ago - it used to drive me crazy, as well as her. Turned out to be due to an acute kidney inflammation, which was cured by antibiotics and IV fluids. She hadn’t been drinking nearly enough.....could this apply in your mum’s case, I wonder?

Thanks Lindy... she was in the hospital for 4 weeks just recently and had all sorts of blood and urine tests done so I presume they would have spotted it. I will mention it to GP this week though now you've mentioned it.
 

karaokePete

Registered User
Jul 23, 2017
6,534
0
N Ireland
Ouch, that is awful Pete .... luckily mum doesn't actually break the skin but I did wonder about her drug regimen. Which one was it? Mum has epilepsy too and is on quite a few meds for that.
Memantine.

Mind you, she's had a downturn in her dementia within 72 hours of stopping it so I'll be keeping an eye on her over the weekend and asking the GP about putting her on a half dose if I think it would help both issues if the downturn continues. It's a bit of a minefield.
 

Toony Oony

Registered User
Jun 21, 2016
576
0
Hi @JoJo2821
Ar-el, B-ld, T-de and a lot of biological own brands irritate me.
P-sil, is fine in all its forms so I stick to that - I have no idea why.
I know that they have to wash at high temps in CH for hygiene reasons - I reckon they must use pretty heavy duty washing powders too.
BTW - I have to confess to a sneaky liking for Deep Heat myself - mmmmmm .....

Oh, and I have a storage box in the top of Mum's wardrobe at the CH, well out of her reach. I fold all her winter clothes in there during the summer, apart from a couple of cardis and swap when the weather gets cooler. It helps to avoid Mum being 'creative' and telling the carers she wants to wear something that's temperature inappropriate.
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Thanks Toony - I have taken away the wooly jumper and the fleece dressing gown... and of course the weather has turned! Still, I will take away her thermals too until the really cool weather returns.
 

JoJo2821

Registered User
May 20, 2018
42
0
Use E45 Itch Relief cream or Avon Skin so Soft spray oil on the itchy area. She might also need an antihistamine. Loratidine and similar did not help my husband so he was put on Phenergan which is a strong antihistamine and also would make her sleep during the night.

Use only Simple soap and shampoo. No fancy smelling products and I would never use talc as it builds up and causes other problems.
Thanks Marion, mum has real balance problems but I will ask about an antihistamine.
 

Rolypoly

Registered User
Jan 15, 2018
2,319
0
Had a laugh at the powder trail because that is mum. She has complained of itchy skin for a while. At one time she came out in a rash of some sort which cleared with antibiotics and cream, but has now returned. More antibiotics and creams. Washing powder hasn’t changed and uses baby stuff so no perfume. She seems to have stopped using so much talc for the moment so no snow trails. She was prescribed moisture barrier cream and I also use E45 and other moisturisers to take her mind off scratching.