How to dress a bedridden person – a step-by-step guide

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Bedridden or disabled people may have problems with daily activities such as dressing and undressing. In such situations, the help of other people turns out to be indispensable. However, the question remains, how to dress a bedridden person so as not to hurt them and at the same time perform this task efficiently?

The process of dressing up a sick person may vary depending on the outfit they are wearing. We are talking here about clothes that bedridden people spend most of the time, i.e. pajamas and nightgowns.

  1. Also read: Care allowance – who is entitled to it and how to get it?

Dressing up a bedridden person step by step – pajamas

  1. If a sick person wears pajamas with buttons, we undo them, in the case of other types of pajamas, e.g. with strings, we untie them. 
  2. Bend the legs of the sick person’s knees and then ask them to lift their buttocks. If this is not possible, use one hand to lightly lift the buttocks of the patient, and with the other hand lift the top of the pajamas.
  3. By shifting our arm under the patient’s back, we raise him. Then we remove the top of the pajamas from the arm farther away from us, and then from the closer one.
  4. We put on the fresh upper part of the pajamas, pulling the sleeve first over the distal frame, and then on the closer one.
  5. We support the patient while putting on the top of the pajamas and align it on his back.
  6. In the next step, we put the sick person down and fasten the pajama buttons.
  7. Then, with one hand, lightly lift the patient’s buttocks to slide off the pajama pants with the other hand.
  8. We start to put on fresh pajama pants by rolling up the legs and try to slide the ends over the patient’s feet and move the legs up to his buttocks.
  9. As when taking off pajama pants, we ask the sick person to bend their legs at the knees and slightly lift their buttocks, if possible, if not, we do these activities for them. Then we pull the pajama pants up to the waist, fasten the buttons or tie the belt, if there is one, and pull the pants over the buttocks.

Dressing up a bedridden person step by step – nightgown

  1. We start with bending the legs in the sick person’s knees. If possible, we ask her to lift her buttocks, otherwise we raise the patient’s buttocks ourselves and then slide the shirt upwards. 
  2. In the next step, we ask the patient to sit down, if possible (a bed equipped with ladders can be very useful in such a situation, which the patient can hold on to) or we slightly lift it and put the shirt over the shoulder area.
  3. Next, we try to take the shirt off the arm of the patient closer to us (standing on the right side of the sick person, it will be the right shoulder), then we pull the shirt over the head and the other shoulder. 
  4. Finally, we put on a fresh shirt, starting with passing it over the patient’s head, the distal arm and the closer one. We slide the shirt down the patient’s body.

In both cases, we must remember that the entire process should be carried out efficiently, so as not to tire the patient and not expose him to unnecessary cold. It is very good if we perform the process of dressing a bedridden person while washing them.

  1. Also read the information on nursing allowance

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