Caring for Charles was challenging in many ways; he was resistant to suggestions, changes in his daily schedule, and the need to move off his recliner. Charles suffered from obesity, diabetes, open wounds, incontinence, and a fungal infection on the skin of his legs. His health was a time bomb, heightened by so many complications.
In addition to many predictable challenges, those of us who served as Charles’ caregivers had an additional hurdle to clear: the overwhelming, sickeningly sweet foul odor when we opened the door of his home. We provided health aides to help with his personal hygiene and housekeeping. His sister and brother visited on the weekends and tried to “freshen” the apartment by hanging dryer sheets and placing room deodorizers in each room. He had clean clothes, towels and sheets. The trash was removed every day. The odor came from Charles himself and especially from the infections of his wounds and rashes. Despite the wave of nausea that hit us as we entered his home, Charles’ wound and skin care had to be done daily.
We found a very simple coping strategy: by applying a thin layer of Vicks ® Vapo Rub ® on the inside of and under our nostrils just before entering his home to provide care or visit, we could counteract the bad odors without affecting Charles. After leaving Charles’s home we would use a light air-freshening spray (like Febreeze ®) to our clothing as we did have others to visit. We never did these activities in Charles’ presence because we did not want to embarrass him in any way.
(By the way, the next time you have to take a long flight, remember this solution!)
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