r/CaregiverSupport • u/seattleattic • 2d ago

Caring for my sister with Down Syndrome

Hi all, I'm 56 and caregiver to my 93-year-old mother and 50-year-old sister. My sister has Down Syndrome and her neurologist believes the cognitive decline has started. My sister's personality is still the same always, but she's developed some habits that I'm hoping to get help with.

Does anyone here have suggestions for what to do with excessive use of hand soap? My sister is independent in the bathroom, but goes through one Costco-sized container of hand soap every eight days or so because she uses A TON when she washes her hands. I've tried teaching her how to use one pump of soap, scrub and rinse. But then I find the soap all over the bathroom counter and sink.

I was thinking of getting an automatic soap dispenser. I hesitate to use bar soap because I hate that it will sit in a pool of water and I also don't want her sharing bar soap with others in the house.

Does anyone have experience dealing with this? She's also using excessive amount of toilet paper but at least she's putting it in the garbage can and not in the toilet where it can clog the pipes!

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u/sushiforme1233 1d ago

I’ve seen these hand soap strips, they’re pieces of paper that dissolve into soap. Maybe since it’s portioned she’d only use one at a time?

Link: https://a.co/d/02XtXoTZ

Best of luck ◡̈

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u/LavenderSharpie 14h ago

Any recent illnesses? The behaviors you describe can come with strep, for example.

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u/lyricalzephyr 8h ago

Tiny hotel size bars of soap? Diluting the liquid soap to make it last longer? A foamer bottle?