Module 4 Lesson 4. Personal care Let’s look at an example Mariam has Alzheimer’s disease, but she is able to care for herself without assistance from family members. Recently, her husband, Mohammed, notices that she sits at the table for breakfast in a nightgown without having washed her face, brushed her hair, or doing her make-up as she usually does. There may be several reasons why Mariam may not undertake personal care before breakfast anymore. One of them is that she may be depressed. For more information on depression please see Lesson 4. Depression, anxiety or apathy in Module 5 Check your understandingPromoting personal hygiene. What would you think is the right response for Mohammed? Please select the correct answer. Ask their daughter-in-law to take Mariam from the table to the bathing room and assist her with washing and changing clothes.Put personal care items in the order of use and label them with large print words and different colours for Mariam to read.Check Ask their daughter-in-law to take Mariam from the table to the bathing room and assist her with washing and changing clothes. This is not the right answer. Mohammed needs to first find out what the reason is for her not doing the personal care before breakfast anymore. Also, instead of assuming, Mohammed needs to ask his wife first if she wants help from their daughter-in- law. Not asking may upset her. Put personal care items in the order of use and label them with large print words and different colours for Mariam to read. This is a good response. People with dementia may lose the ability to find items that are not obvious. Creating an ‘easy to find’ environment for them is very important. Error: Please select at least one option.Please click ‘check’ to view the answers before continuing.Error: Please type your answers in the text box. Tip Below are some tips that may help people with dementia find items or places, and to do personal care activities independently. To find the bathroom or toilet: put a picture or words on the bathroom door or direct the person to the bathroom. To find personal care materials: make items easy to see in the bathroom, label items with their name, use pictures or words on the bathroom wall to point out items, use contrasting colours. To help turn the tap on and off: use colour indicators to label the direction for turning the tap on and off, instruct the person to turn the tap on and turn off, assist if needed.