Reasons why occupational therapist recommends a new shower in your home

greybuffalo

what reasons would an occupational therapist recommend a new shower in your home ? what kind of disability would one have to have to be eligible?

soolin

I think it would very much depend on what they see as the perceived issues with the current set up.

Even simple things like having a larger purpose built shower that has a stall to sit on, or perhaps one with the controls adapted somehow . I can't imagine that there is any sort of written rule, like of you have x then you need Y, more like a working with the client to see what exact needs they have and what they struggle with on a standard shower set up.

kingfisherblue

I can only speak from personal experience, which is probably very different to the reasons that other people have showers put in.


My son was born with Down's Syndrome and a number of medical conditions (some associated, some not). He was doubly incontinent due to his medical problems and finally toilet trained earlier this year, just before his 16th birthday. The council OT arranged for a downstairs wetroom to be installed, including a shower. This was to make it easier to clean him (his bowels were very loose and he had no sensation of needing to 'go'). We had a shower over the bath upstairs, but he wasn't very safe on the stairs as a child (still isn't great, but at least he doesn't swing round unexpectedly any more). Having a downstairs toilet also meant that once he was able to use the toilet properly (an believe me, it has been an uphill struggle!), he would not need to keep going up and down stairs, and would also be able to have some independence when he visited the bathroom, instead of me having to accompany him upstairs each time to keep him safe on the stairs. He also gets breathless when going up and down stairs, and as he has got older, his limbs have started to be very painful due to hypermobile joints.


So, my son's shower was installed to clean him primarily after bowel movements, and to reduce the number of trips upstairs. In addition, the toilet has a cleansing and drying function that he operates by pressing his foot on an inflated pad - he struggles with ordinary flushes as he cannot apply enough pressure to push a flush down, or to press a button flush. This has been great for him, as he is cleaned and dried - cleaning himself is an area that we are still working on!


A lady that I know could not get into and out of a bath without two people to help her, but she can manage a shower, so that's why she has hers. She has rheumatoid arthritis.

Savvy_Sue

If you have an over bath shower, then a walk-in might be recommended if you can no longer get in and out of the bath safely, even with grab rails.

Cyclamen

They judge this off your symptoms and limitations not your disability/diagnosis.

With me we tried a bath board so i could sit and lift my legs into bath to shower.. that didn't work.

Inflatable bath seat - i couldn't balance on one even with grab handles and using a bathw a stoo tiring.

With bath steps grab rails and carers it was still very difficult getting in and out my bath .. and quite often dangerous for all involved.

So in my experience... they tried other things first..

If adapting a bathroom will give the user more independance its considered?
If the user cannot use the bath/over bath shower without support its considered?

I was offered a disabled facilities grant to convert the bathroom.. i have level access walk in shower now and its so much less painful and doesnt increase my symptoms.

greybuffalo

A lady that I know could not get into and out of a bath without two people to help her, but she can manage a shower, so that's why she has hers. She has rheumatoid arthritis.

We are having a new bathroom fitted,because the housing association believes ours is due after 22 years.
My wife has trouble getting in and out of the bath,up and down,we have a homemade shower up,but gravity doesn't allow it to work that well,so as they are doing the bathroom,w are going to ask.
The route is what? to go to the G.P and ask for an O.P assessment??
Anyone advise the choicest way?to make sure she get a proper shower?
She has not been diagnosed for arthritis as we don't believe in giving these things power?

kittykat17

The OT arranged for us to have a wet room for my mother so she could be showered in a chair. Even two carers couldn't get her into the bath (despite all sorts of equipment being tried) and she couldn't use the standard shower as we couldn't get a chair in plus there wasn't room for a carer.


My mother had no mobility whatsoever after several strokes and suffering from vascular dementia.


The wet room was brilliant! Mum could be showered easily and safely plus the toilet was more accessible for her - able to place the commode over it.


We were lucky as the council arranged a grant to do it and it covered everything - shower, shower doors, seat, flooring, tiles. All I had to pay for was paint to 'touch-up' the walls where tiles didn't reach!


Even my dad, who hated showers, was happy to use the wet room.

kittykat17

greybuffalo wrote: »

We are having a new bathroom fitted,because the housing association believes ours is due after 22 years.
My wife has trouble getting in and out of the bath,up and down,we have a homemade shower up,but gravity doesn't allow it to work that well,so as they are doing the bathroom,w are going to ask.
The route is what? to go to the G.P and ask for an O.P assessment??
Anyone advise the choicest way?to make sure she get a proper shower?
She has not been diagnosed for arthritis as we don't believe in giving these things power?

Speak to adult social services first, ask them for an assessment and a referral to an OT. Explain the problems your wife has with personal care, etc, and ask what they recommend. It could also be worth having a word with your housing association, again explain your wife's difficulties and ask if they can do something to help. Don't know if that would have any effect but it's worth asking. Good luck.

margaretclare

greybuffalo wrote: »

We are having a new bathroom fitted,because the housing association believes ours is due after 22 years.
My wife has trouble getting in and out of the bath,up and down,we have a homemade shower up,but gravity doesn't allow it to work that well,so as they are doing the bathroom,w are going to ask.
The route is what? to go to the G.P and ask for an O.P assessment??
Anyone advise the choicest way?to make sure she get a proper shower?
She has not been diagnosed for arthritis as we don't believe in giving these things power?

If she has trouble getting in and out of bath, up and down etc, then it's unsafe. She could easily slip, fall, and do herself some serious damage.

I have replaced hips and DH has replaced knees. Some years ago now we had the whole bathroom done. It's not very big, but we had the whole bath ripped out and a shower cubicle installed. We haven't had a bath, as such, for at least 10 years.

When DH was very seriously ill in 2008, while in hospital I asked the OT/rehab/physio people on the ward what they suggested. I knew the existing shower cubicle had too high a step-up for him to manage on coming home. Their answer: a strip-wash daily was all that was required.

I went home and spoke to a man 2 doors down in the building trade, saw what he'd done in his own house. I arranged with him to do similar for us - a bigger shower cubicle with lower step-in, more grab-rails. It's big enough to put a plastic seat or chair in if required.

We go away quite a lot, often to B&Bs, been in a lot of different overnight stays or longer and the thing we need most is a shower, not a bath. It has to have a walk-in or low step-in and grab-rails or grab-handles where you can reach them. I could write a book about the different places and the lack of understanding of hotel staff. Hilton hotels are the worst, we've found. The Gateway hotel at Nottingham, stayed there last Saturday night, bathroom there was brilliant.

There's a disability shop on an industrial estate close to us, we went there for the Macmillan coffee morning. They do all those kinds of things. If you want social service to do it for you there is a waiting-list so it won't happen immediately.

If I still lived in a house, and not a bungalow, I would definitely need at least a loo downstairs.

What you could do is to go round different shops where they supply bathrooms, have a look at what's available. B&Q would be a place to start. Saw a TV ad last evening of new bathrooms, can't remember who. But they are available.

Indie_Kid

If you go through social services, you don't need a GP referral. You just phone up social services.

My grandparents had a wet room fitted. Granddad had cancer of the spine and struggled to get in and out of the bath. They had a shower with a seat fitted.

kingfisherblue

greybuffalo wrote: »

We are having a new bathroom fitted,because the housing association believes ours is due after 22 years.
My wife has trouble getting in and out of the bath,up and down,we have a homemade shower up,but gravity doesn't allow it to work that well,so as they are doing the bathroom,w are going to ask.
The route is what? to go to the G.P and ask for an O.P assessment??
Anyone advise the choicest way?to make sure she get a proper shower?
She has not been diagnosed for arthritis as we don't believe in giving these things power?

Ours was done through the Children with Disabilities team at the council, even though we live in our own house. Your best option is to contact adult Social Services. The shower pressure downstairs was too low, and a previous owner of our house had built over the manhole that the builders needed to access(!), but they were able to get round the problem by installing a pump thingummybob attached to the shower. It's about a foot high, six inches wide, and protrudes from the wall next to the shower by about six inches. Plain white, it isn't too obtrusive, wipes clean easily, and does the job it's supposed to do. The only problem is that it is noisy when the shower is in use, and for about two minutes afterwards. It cost an extra £300 eleven years ago, but (touch wood!) has never failed and is still going strong.