Bed Bathing of Patients and Residents

Feeling clean, having your hair combed the way you like, and wearing your favorite outfits are among some of the things that bring dignity to an elderly person’s life, whether they live at home or in a long-term care facility.

Therefore, bed bathing is among the most essential care tasks for those needing help maintaining personal hygiene. At the same time, it is a time-consuming and straining care task for healthcare professionals.

The traditional method uses a wash basin with water, soap, and a washcloth, which the caregiver brings to the resident’s bedside. However, a new type of bed bathing that saves both time and resources is slowly emerging. The method consists of using Wash-without-water products which are prepacked in single-use units and can be heated before use.  

Wash without water is an excellent alternative to traditional soap and water, and studies show that there are many benefits. Let’s explore some of them below.

Maintain Skin Integrity and pH Balance

Many residents who require bed bathing also have sensitive, sore skin and perhaps even skin issues such as Incontinence Associated Dermatitis (IAD). This means their skin is susceptible to the friction caused when bathing with traditional water and soap and is prone to dry out. 

Studies have shown that wash-without-water products help avoid friction on residents’ skin while upholding the proper pH balance (1). It is important to keep the right pH value on the skin, as the fatty acid (lipids) helps keep the skin healthy, and a high pH value removes the lipids.

ABENA’s Wash Without Water products contains the exact amount of water and soap needed, meaning there is no risk of using too much or too little soap. Product residue on the skin can dry the skin out and disturb the pH balance. 

Reduced Risk of Contamination

Washing without water also has several benefits when it comes to the risk of contamination. Some studies suggest that the risk of contamination using the traditional wash basin can be high because the bath basin becomes contaminated during the washing process and becomes a potential source of infection (2). At the same time, it can be challenging to control the cleanliness of towels and washcloths, whereas the packaging of wash without water products ensures good hygiene.

At the same time, studies have shown no difference between a traditional wash-with-water bath and a wash-without-water bath regarding their efficiency in removing microorganisms in the groin and perineum areas, including microorganisms that could potentially cause urinary tract infections (2).

Improved Work Health and Safety for Employees

The wash-without-water method of bed bathing residents and patients may also lead to several benefits for the employees’ work health and safety. Some studies show that using a wash glove reduces the number of lifts and bad twists (1).

Simultaneously, studies have also shown that washing without water saves 11 minutes per resident compared to washing with water (1) as it simply requires less preparation and clean-up from care staff. Meanwhile, washing without water involves no risk of spilling water on the resident’s bed and, thereby, no risk of having to change the resident’s bed linens after bed bathing.

References from Denmark have also shown surprising benefits for residents with Dementia, stating that the wash-without-water method is conflict-reducing. Approaching a person with Dementia with a wash basin and towel can make the patient anxious and cause them to lash out physically or verbally. In their experience, the wash-without-water method does not have the same effect.

This can be both because the wash-without-water products are more comfortable to use on the skin compared to a washcloth and towel, which can have a rough surface. It can also be due to the residents easily being able to participate in the wash-without-water process themselves. In contrast, some do not understand what to do with a washcloth and basin. 

This article has been written in collaboration with in-house nurses at ABENA.

(1-2) All sources are available upon request.