I have recently discovered that my 93 year old mother in law has not bathed in over 7-8 months. During this time she lived at home with aides coming in every week, but when she became ill she had to move to a nursing home for 4 months until a recent move to an assisted living facility. While she told us that she has bathed or showered with assistance, we now know that is not true. We know that she uses a washcloth to clean herself but she has problems with incontinence, and has definitely had an odor many times. She has serious vision problems, mild dementia, well controlled Type 2 diabetes, and arthritis but is basically healthy. We are both concerned about her failing to tell us the truth as well as her failure to bathe which we cannot help but think is unhealthy. Is failing to bathe unhealthy? She has only recently had her hair washed so at least that is a start, but how long can a person go without showering or bathing? Is this unhealthy?
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