How to convince patient to stop rubbing her eyes

I have sought advice on this site with much success in the past, and am hoping that I can get some good suggestions again. I am caregiver to an elderly, bedridden lady who now has developed pinkeye which is bacterial in nature. Although I thoroughly clean her hands and nails several times a day, she will often check her diaper during the night to see if she is wet or dirty and then, forgetting that her hands are not especially clean, will rub her eyes and face. This has, I am sure, caused the pinkeye and now is being aggravated because her eyes itch, she continues to rub and scratch at them, which increases the problem, which increases the irritation . . . . and on and on. We have seen the doctor and she has prescribed medication, but of course it isn't doing too much good because of the constant rubbing. I have explained to her in every way I can think of that doing this is keeping the infection from going away, but she is so easily confused and forgetful and continues to irritate her own eyes. Does anybody have ANY suggestion as to how I can help her so that her eyes can have a chance to heal? Besides being concerned about her, I know how contagious this disease is and I am very careful to wear gloves, wash my hands frequently, etc., but it still concerns me.

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Started by Glittergirl13137 on 4 months ago

Missy responded 4 months ago :

Hey Glitter,
That's a toughie. Do you think the big issue is her rubbing her eyes or putting her hands in her undergarment? I wonder if there is a garment that would not allow her to put her hand there. Forgive me because I don't have experience in this, but I'm thinking something along the lines of a onesie?
Poor gal. I know, firsthand, that pinkeye is miserable. I sure hope someone has a great suggestion for you.

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Glittergirl13137 responded 4 months ago :

Thanks for your suggestion Missy - maybe a new type of undergarment as you suggested would help, and I will look into that. I also purchased a pair of cotton gloves for her to wear, which of course can get dirty too but I can't help believe that they would be as "germy" as our skin can get. I noticed that since I put the gloves on her today she has decreased somewhat in the number of times that she rubs her eyes, and I think that perhaps when she goes to rub and she sees the gloves it serves as a visual to remind her that she shouldn't. Her doctor even had her assistant phone her to restate how to treat this problem, including not touching her eyes while they heal, but her memory is very weak and I doubt that she even remembered speaking to her by the end of the day. If anyone else has anything to add or has had similar experience with this type of problem, I am open to any suggestion. Thank you!

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