It takes more than just getting into the room to be able to make use of the toilet. You need to deal with your clothing as well. What if you can’t stand up or balance while standing? What if you are a caregiver for someone who depends upon you to transfer or move from one surface to another?
One solution is the SureHands Lift& Care System Body Support. It can be used with any of the ceiling based or wall based motors. Unlike many slings, the body support leaves the buttocks area clear during the secure transfer. This makes this a great lift support for speedy, secure, and often independent transfers, but it is also great for clothing adjustments during toileting.
Once a person is positioned over the toilet, pants can be moved over the hips to the level of the body support. This is easier with looser pants. Individuals with sufficient hand strength and dexterity and arm mobility may be able to do this themselves. It is a relatively easy task for most caregivers. Once the person is lowered to the toilet, the thigh and chest cuffs become loose. As the thigh cuff is removed the pants can be pulled further down each leg. Some caregivers find it helpful for hygiene to lift a person into the air slightly for cleaning. Other people can accomplish cleaning while seated.
When the person is ready for pants to be pulled up, the top of the pants are gathered and pulled up as high on the thigh as possible. Work with one leg at a time. Sometimes you will need to repeat this process. If a person’s leg can’t be lifted high enough to clear enough space to pull the pants up, a caregiver can prop their leg up on something or lean them slightly to the side. The goal is to gather the pants up so that most of the fabric needed to pull over the hips is over mid thigh. Place the thigh cuffs just below the gather of material and lift the person slightly. With the cuffs at mid thigh the person’s buttocks will be lower than usual so best practice is to lift just high enough to clear the toilet and work fairly quickly to pull the pants up over the hips. Depending upon how tight the pants are, this step may take a little tugging to clear any folds of fabric at the thigh cuff. Lower to the toilet and reposition the thigh cuffs correctly as high up on the legs toward the hips as possible.
The body support makes dressing during toileting activities possible for many people. Give us a call today if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private consultation.
402-291-9514
