Portablebumgun.com may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to the user) from Amazon and other online retailers if a purchase is made after clicking a link. I appreciate your continuing support.
As a caregiver, it is your job to provide your patients with stability and comfort. Patients that require toileting assistance are at particular risk of losing their independence, offering some unique challenges to those charged with their care. There are now portable bidets for caregivers, that can be used to help with patient visits.
Caregiver Challenges
Cleaning up after accidents can be messy, embarrassing and time-consuming. Assisting a patient with toileting can deprive them of their privacy. And wiping a patient after they use the toilet can be awkward, uncomfortable and unhygienic.
Bidets are the solution to many of these toileting situations you may encounter as a caregiver. With the benefits of minimized physical contact and little or no use of uncomfortable dry toilet paper.
How Do Bidets Work?
Bidets are used to clean oneself after toileting. They offer a more hygienic, refreshing and thorough alternative to traditional toilet-paper wiping.
Bidets use a soft stream of water to spray the perineal area, removing faecal matter completely from the bottom. The strength of the water spray is adjustable, so you can cater to your patient’s comfort level.
Bidets come in different styles to fit the user, from electronic bidet toilet seats to portable electric travel bidets. In this article, we look at which bidets are best for caregivers and the options available.
Maintaining Patient Dignity and Hygiene
Bidets for caregivers offer meaningful health and safety benefits to patients, such as:
- Staying clean between bath days.
- Reducing the risk of infection.
- Limiting the risk of falling while reaching to wipe.
- Maintaining privacy and independence.
- Reducing awkward and embarrassing moments.
The Best Bidets for Caregivers
Traditionally, a bidet was a standalone bathroom fixture used for cleaning the lower regions after toileting. Today, however, modern bidets are integrated into the toilet itself or are portable, and even offer helpful tools like wireless remote controls. This means your patient doesn’t have to stand up or move to another fixture before they’ve cleaned up.
Electronic Bidet Toilet Seats
These bidets are easy to install onto any existing toilet. If you visit a patient’s house frequently, you can suggest adding one of these to their bathroom.
The bidet attachment has a nozzle, angled just right, that extends down when initiated, to direct a warm clean-water spray. When the bidet is inactive, the nozzle retracts back into its hiding place and is sanitized with UV lighting and clean water.
Some electric bidet toilet seats include water heaters, so your patient isn’t surprised by a chilly spray! Some also have warm-air dryers, which allow you to completely skip any manual drying that was previously necessary. All from the comfort of the toilet seat!
Electric Travel Bidets
If you frequently travel to patients’ homes where no installed bidet is present, consider bringing your own. A portable bidet can be a great tool to help keep your patient clean and happy, and they are small and discreet for easy transportation.
Electric travel bidets have a nozzle at an angle, so you (or your patient) can hold it between the legs and spray backwards to clean. You can fill the portable bottle with water of the desired temperature, right from the sink. And the button to initiate cleaning has two strength settings.
These portable bidets have batteries that are USB rechargeable.
It’s essential that patients feel comfortable toileting. It is an everyday necessity of life. A bidet can offer caregivers healthier and safer methods to assist patients in the bathroom.
