Taking a sponge bath

Danaus29 · #21 09/12/13, 04:49 PM

MO cows, oh how I sympathize! I was so glad my doctor didn't put a cast on my foot when I broke it.

TxMex · #22 09/12/13, 05:11 PM

Use baby wash. It is much easier to get off than regular soap. A spray bottle may also help.

For times when I am conserving water, like when I am dry camping and have to haul it all with me, I can get clean with a bit less than a gallon of water. I use baby wash for my hair and body. I have long hair. Use a spray bottle to get my hair damp and then pour about a 1/2-1 cup of water over my hair to get it wet enough to suds. Use baby wash to wash hair. Squeeze excess out of hair then very slowly pour water over hair to rinse. That uses around 1/2 gallon. Wet washcloth and apply baby wash. Don't bother with getting your skin wet first. Wash all over with washcloth. Spray all over with the spray bottle very well and then wipe off with a dry cloth. If in doubt about removing all the soap, repeat with the spray bottle and wipe again. I feel as clean as I do after stepping out of a shower.

I also use the spray bottle on dishes and use an astonishingly small amount of water.

CAjerseychick · #23 09/12/13, 05:13 PM

love em so many uses, never stopped buying since the Baby was born (she is 10now)....
in a pinch (espec if this is just temporary) just swab out your "areas" (pits crotch and buttcrack) pat dry with a damp towel... you are done.
I even put mine in the compost pile after....

Ohio dreamer · #24 09/12/13, 05:21 PM

If it take a bunch of water to rinse off, you are using way too much soap.

jwal10 · #25 09/12/13, 05:53 PM

Luckily most of my wounds were in my extremities, put a bread sack over it and 2 rubber bands and take a shower. I had surgeries every 4-6 weeks on my hand for 3 years straight, got used to it. Much easier showering than winging it with a wash cloth when you have 1 arm. When I had the casts on my left leg I used a garbage sack over it, 16 weeks for that one....James

fishhead · #26 09/12/13, 06:19 PM

I had knee surgery. I guess I'll turn the water heater on and 'bathe' in the sink as best I can. I'll put the dog towel on the floor in case I get wild and crazy.

jwal10 · #27 09/12/13, 06:28 PM

I would cut the end out of the bag to length needed to cover and put 2 rubber bands, 1 above, 1 below and hobble in....James

Grumpy old man · #28 09/12/13, 06:45 PM

knee surgery ? I thought you had been mauled by a bear talking wounds and all , Plastic trash bag over the leg and tape it shut and climb in the shower for 2 minutes and your done .......knee surgery ........

DEKE01 · #29 09/12/13, 07:17 PM

Men, the proper way to have a sponge bath is to just lie there while she earns her pay.

OK, sorry ladies. A joke.

Annsni · #30 09/12/13, 07:23 PM

It's not that hard. With knee surgery, get into the tub with a couple of inches of water and leave the leg hanging out. You can wash up perfectly that way. Hubby did that after his knee surgery, foot surgery and toe surgery (all from injuries!). It worked great!

But from a sink, fill the sink and just use a small amount of soap. My grandma used to wash us that way all the time when we were kids and it worked out fine.

Annsni · #31 09/12/13, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I_don't_know

On board we used a 5 qt shower. We warmed the water in a pressure cooker, lid on so it would not spill if we took a wave. Warm the water just enough to feel good, don't get the pot hot.

Use a small tea cup to wet hair and face. One cup would wet my face and hair second cup or two to rinse. Rinse water from the hair gets the body wet.

Use shampoo not soap,

less scum, thin the shampoo with water it will rinse easier. I kept mine in a squirt bottle.
One cup of water to wet a wash rag and a couple of squirts of shampoo and start washing. You have now used 4 cups.
Use a fresh rag and the last of the water to rinse. If you like you can take a little squirt of baby oil, go light, and then give yourself a quick wipe down.
I used a big tub catch the water and then took it topside to dump.
Then you get in the dingy and go dancing.

On our old boat, we used a sunshower. Now we have 130 gallons of water on board, a 12 gallon hot water heater and a separate stall shower. It's HEAVEN!!!!!!

Fair Light · #32 09/12/13, 07:40 PM

Back in my days of no indoor plumbing I took showers outside (back side of the cabin against the woods)....standing on a wood pallet..5 gallon bucket of warm water...large glass of water over my head...a little shampoo...rinsing some of it off with a big plastic glass spreads it all over the body....more water over my head to get most of it rinsed...then the remaining bucket of warm water over my head all at once....feels soooo good !!!! during winter it was more complicated...a basin of water washing just the essentials....then once or twice a week showers at my daughter's house a mile away....worked for me for 2 1/2 years.

vicker · #33 09/12/13, 07:51 PM

Best bath in the world, Fairlight. I did the same for many years, except that's what I did in the winter. In the summer I used the creek or a shower straight from the spring.

Rick · #34 09/12/13, 08:01 PM

You might wrap the knee in plastic wrap taped in place and use a tub of water or a bucket with a cup to rinse off.

Ozarks Tom · #35 09/12/13, 09:14 PM

I've printed 3 pages of posts so far, and I still can't understand why they ask me to stand outside and shout my orders into the feed store.

Ohio dreamer · #36 09/12/13, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEKE01

Men, the proper way to have a sponge bath is to just lie there while she earns her pay.

OK, sorry ladies. A joke.

This lady found it funny!

Yvonne's hubby · #37 09/12/13, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishhead

I had knee surgery. I guess I'll turn the water heater on and 'bathe' in the sink as best I can. I'll put the dog towel on the floor in case I get wild and crazy.

Oh my, and here I thought you were injured with multiple wounds all over your body. This is what I would do. Take a tall kitchen trash bag and cut the bottom out of it. (a new one preferably) stick your leg in it making sure it comes up to mid thigh well above the incision. Now pull it snug around your thigh and wrap the top with duck tape. Be sure you have a good seal all the way around the top, then go take yer shower. (if you plan to stand on yer head at any point in the shower... seal the bottom end below the knee too)

joebill · #38 09/12/13, 09:46 PM

Most of your body don't need soap.

Hair, pits, equator, use soapy wash rag and rinse with same from clean water. The rest of you don't really get dirty, just lays around and gets dusty, especailly when recovering from surgery.

Don't forget, sweat is water soluable. Wipe off the non-hairy areas with a wash rag and clear warm water. rinse rag often. Steam your beard before shaving with a HOT wash rag.

There y'go! clean as a whistle.

I used to go weeks like this in the desert with no ill effects while living in a tent, and I have sensitive skin and psoriasis.

Step back 50 years to when I was 17, people would have thought we were mentally ill because we thought we needed a shower every day . Next time you take a real shower, keep track of all the areas you NEVER really soap. Most of us will be surprised......Joe

Tommyice · #39 09/12/13, 09:58 PM

Pharmacies sell plastic sleeves that fit on arms and legs so that you can shower. Ask your doctor if you can use Tegaderm--it's film type of bandage that's waterproof.

Pony · #40 09/13/13, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishhead

I had knee surgery. I guess I'll turn the water heater on and 'bathe' in the sink as best I can. I'll put the dog towel on the floor in case I get wild and crazy.

Ouch.

I remember when my DD had bilateral knee surgery. She used a sink full of water and a wash cloth. She didn't attract any flies, so I guess it was all good.

Heal quickly!