Re: Re: Drooling - any ideas? Aine

[Guest guest]

Hi Aine,

If you put a soft towel on top of his pillow too, it

will soak up the wetness, so it doesn't all stick to

his face while he is sleeping. I don't know how alert

your father is, but if he could wear a sweat band,

made of terri cloth, like towels, wound around his

writst to wipe away the drool with it, it will keep

his mouth dry and not be so noticable as a bib. You

would have to demonstrate to him how to use it for

awhile until he gets the idea.

I worked with special needs kids and this is what the

Occupational Therapist used for the kids that drooled

to keep it dry around their mouth. Jan

--- aine_ann wrote:

> Thanks Jacqui .... so much information.

>

> What you say rings some bells. It was the drooling

> that dad was

> referred for first, before any suggestion of memory

> clinic. He went

> to ENT who referred him to physician re possible

> Parkinson' ...... who

> said she thought it wasn't Parkinson's and referred

> to psychiatrist.

>

> I sometimes used to tuck a towel into the neck of

> dad's shirt when he

> was living at home, to soak it all up. Maybe it

> would be something to

> suggest to the nh. I don't know which he might feel

> was more

> embarassing ....... wet clothes or a clothes saver

> ( yes, I like that

> term better too) . It's almost always from the

> right side of dad's

> mouth .... someone suggested that since dad had had

> several little

> strokes at times his right side was weaker, so his

> head lolled a

> little to that side and so that's where the saliva

> ran out.

>

> Thankfully it's not apparently made dad's chin/cheek

> sore. But maybe

> it's worth suggesting the zinc ointment as a

> possible preventative

> measure ..... it presumably can't do his skin that

> much good.

>

> His teeth have been checked pretty recently. That's

> the first thing I

> wondered about when the problem started. He's not

> on any of the sort

> of medication that might cause it. The nh seem

> baffled as though

> they've not seen it before ...... so it's useful to

> konw it's linked

> to LBD.

> He was checked for nasal obstructions when he

> started with teh ENT

> appointment, though he does rather tend to breathe

> through his mouth.

>

> I'll let you know how we get on.

> kind regards

>

> Áine

>

>

>

>

>

Jan Colello, wife of Jim, dx w/Parkinsons 1993 and LBD 2003San Francisco Bay

Area, California

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

With our daughter, who also drools, (Fred doesn't yet) I took some of those red

kercheifs that cowboys wear around their necks and sewed them back to back (like

making a pillow) with terry cloth. Then I turned them and sewed up the open

side and used them around her neck. They looked more like a fashion statement

than a bib. It is hard to avoid the stigmatizing that comes with servere

disabilities. My son used to put his finger under Angie's chin and say,

" Swallow, Angie. " And darn if she wouldn't do it for him. Now she has a habit

of sucking on her lower lip until it gets raw, but in the process she swallows a

lot of saliva. There are meds that can reduce drooling, but I always was afraid

it would leave her mouth dry, and isn't hell described as a place of never

ending thirst?

Re: Re: Drooling - any ideas? Aine

Hi Aine,

If you put a soft towel on top of his pillow too, it

will soak up the wetness, so it doesn't all stick to

his face while he is sleeping. I don't know how alert

your father is, but if he could wear a sweat band,

made of terri cloth, like towels, wound around his

writst to wipe away the drool with it, it will keep

his mouth dry and not be so noticable as a bib. You

would have to demonstrate to him how to use it for

awhile until he gets the idea.

I worked with special needs kids and this is what the

Occupational Therapist used for the kids that drooled

to keep it dry around their mouth. Jan

--- aine_ann wrote:

> Thanks Jacqui .... so much information.

>

> What you say rings some bells. It was the drooling

> that dad was

> referred for first, before any suggestion of memory

> clinic. He went

> to ENT who referred him to physician re possible

> Parkinson' ...... who

> said she thought it wasn't Parkinson's and referred

> to psychiatrist.

>

> I sometimes used to tuck a towel into the neck of

> dad's shirt when he

> was living at home, to soak it all up. Maybe it

> would be something to

> suggest to the nh. I don't know which he might feel

> was more

> embarassing ....... wet clothes or a clothes saver

> ( yes, I like that

> term better too) . It's almost always from the

> right side of dad's

> mouth .... someone suggested that since dad had had

> several little

> strokes at times his right side was weaker, so his

> head lolled a

> little to that side and so that's where the saliva

> ran out.

>

> Thankfully it's not apparently made dad's chin/cheek

> sore. But maybe

> it's worth suggesting the zinc ointment as a

> possible preventative

> measure ..... it presumably can't do his skin that

> much good.

>

> His teeth have been checked pretty recently. That's

> the first thing I

> wondered about when the problem started. He's not

> on any of the sort

> of medication that might cause it. The nh seem

> baffled as though

> they've not seen it before ...... so it's useful to

> konw it's linked

> to LBD.

> He was checked for nasal obstructions when he

> started with teh ENT

> appointment, though he does rather tend to breathe

> through his mouth.

>

> I'll let you know how we get on.

> kind regards

>

> Áine

>

>

>

>

>

Jan Colello, wife of Jim, dx w/Parkinsons 1993 and LBD 2003San Francisco Bay

Area, California

__________________________________________________