Poop under the fingernails

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Mom’s Alzheimer’s is getting worse.

Last Monday when I toileted her she had a very dense, large ball of poop stuck in her sphincter.

She wanted to use her hands to dislodge it.  I kept putting toilet paper in her hands to distract her.

Finally it dropped.  I think she is constipated because of the Tylenol she gets 3 times a day.

I was told she may have arthritis.  

Today at dinner, I noticed she had poop under her fingernails.

I took her to the nurses station.  I got some Q-tips to clean under her nails.  This is not the first time.  I soaked her fingers in dixie cups of warm soapy water, scraped under her finger nails with the stick of the Q tip and then used the cotton to clean up the loosened poop.

Apparently she gets up and walks around at night.  The doctor has put her on Trazodone 50 mg

Mom is being fed pureed food.  She doesn’t like it.  She will cry if any force is used.

After I cleaned mom up, I went back to the kitchen and asked for a banana.  I peeled it for her and she ate it.

I gave her some strawberries.  She pulled off the leaves and ate one.  One of them was large so she pulled it apart with her fingers.  I put a large one in her mouth and she was able to bite a piece off.

The other day she had forgotten how to brush her teeth.  I brushed her teeth and then gave her some water to rinse.  She drank the water.

Today she was able to brush her teeth and rinse.  I always give her a second brushing.

She is still friends with Donna.  They like to sit together.

I am thankful that mom is not alone.

Mom ate some dinner.  Larry was feeding her.  But I had to take her away because she had poop under her nails.

We played card bingo.  Zorka joined us.  Mom was agitated at first, but eventually she was able to participate.  She was trying to gather her cards instead of letting them lie. Chris played cards with us.  Then we took mom for a walk around the facility, took photos, etc.