Partial Bed Bath
Providing a partial bed bath helps patients to retain dignity and feel better. Following the specific steps ensures that you will not forget any of the important elements of this task. Make sure that you fully understand the procedure so that you can easily tackle the task and keep your patient comfortable.
When to Give Patients a Partial Bed Bath?
It is common for CNAs to give a partial bed bath about two to three times per week. Most facilities have guidelines as to when to administer this type of care. If you are working with the elderly or those who have issues with blood flow, providing this care more often than three times a week may put them at risk for sores.
How to Give a Partial Bed Bath?
There are several steps to follow when you are administering a partial bed bath, including:
- Identify the patient
- Wash your hands
- Gather all of the necessary supplies, including a basin with comfortably warm water
- Take the tray table and put a towel over it before placing the basins on top
- Put your washcloths into the basins
- Get your patient into a sitting position
- Start by cleaning their face using a damp washcloth that you have not put any soap on yet
- Make sure to clean their eyes from the inner corner to the outer edge
- Use a dry washcloth to pat dry the patient’s face
- Remove the patient’s gown
- Grab a clean blanket and cover them with it
- Lather your washcloth and clean the patient’s underarms and hands
- With a newly lathered and clean washcloth, clean their perineum and genitals
- Use a wet washcloth to rinse away the lather
- Grab a dry washcloth to dry the patient thoroughly
- Put clean clothing on them
- Change the bedding if it got wet
- Remove all of your supplies
Video Instructions for Giving a Partial Bed Bath
Expert Tips & Advice on Giving Bed Baths
When giving a patient a partial bed bath, there are a few expert tips to remember to ensure optimal patient safety and comfort.
- Make sure that the room is warm enough for the patient before you start the bath
- To keep the bed dry, place some blankets under your patient
- Ensure that the door is shut, or the curtains are pulled prior to starting the bath to maintain your patient’s privacy
- Use your elbow to make sure that the water in the basin is comfortably warm without being too hot
FAQ About Bed Baths
While all facilities have their own guidelines, the general recommendation is to cleanse a resident’s perineum on a daily basis.
When the water starts to become cold, you should get clean water that is comfortably warm for the patient. How often this is needed will depend on how quickly the water gets cold.
When you provide a partial bed bath, you are focusing on the patient’s face, underarms, hands, perineal area, and genitals. A complete bed bath means that you bathe their entire body.
Start at the patient’s head on one side of their body. Completely cleanse this side of the body before starting at the head again to bathe the other side.