Caregiving: Overview of Personal Care

Topic Overview

Helping someone with personal care involves a lot of daily tasks. If it's been a while since you did day-to-day caregiving-or you've never done it-you might not know all the things you need to do and how to do them. This information gives an overview of the daily or weekly care a person needs.

Bathing

• Helping with a shower
• Helping with a sink bath
• Giving a bed bath

Bladder and bowel care

• Using adult underwear for incontinence
• Using a bedpan or urinal
• Using a bedside commode (toilet)
• Caring for an indwelling urinary catheter

Cleaning up and reducing germs

• Reducing germs and infection in the home
• Using disposable gloves
• Washing soiled clothes and linens
• Cleaning up diarrhea

Helping at meal time

• Helping someone with eating

Home safety

• Making a home safe

Moving someone in bed

• Turning someone in bed

Personal care and grooming

• Dental care for older adults
• Hair washing and care
• Shaving
• Caring for fingernails
• Caring for feet and toenails

Skin care

• Caring for the skin of an immobile adult
• Preventing rashes in the groin area