Dad is 81, he shares a bathroom in the hall. We have our own bathroom. It has been getting worse with the messes. Mostly the urine missing the toilet. The other evening while making dinner I had to clean up the large puddle floor in front of the toilet (while I was prepping dinner)? He doesn't wash his hands and I have found poo in places it shouldn't be. It is not a cognitive issues, more of lazy. The smell is starting to really get to me since my wife and I keep a clean home. Don't get me started on my son in laws nasty smelling room of unwashed clothes. Between both of their rooms the smell is horrible. Neither my dad or my daughter were raised that way and I do speak up. The issues with the missing the toilet is getting to me. How have others brought the delicate subject of aim and habits up?
Now is the time, TG.
I won't go into detail about my dad's bathroom as it still horrifies me to this day but the day I recognized there was a problem I dressed myself out like a HazMat worker and brought every cleaning product under the sun in with me. Plus a box of gloves and a mask. I did this while my dad wasn't home so as not to embarrass him and I got the job done. I had no idea he was having.....issues. After the initial deep clean-up I kept my eye on the bathroom and never let it get that way again. But it was not pleasant to say the least.
If it's not vision, I'd suspect cognitive decline. Hygiene and bathroom issues are huge warning signs, based on my experience and from what I have read. Even though you say, it's not that, I'd reconsider. I recall when my cousin first started with cognitive decline. I would explain her behavior and a couple of people said it sounded like dementia. I said NO WAY, because she didn't seem to have that, imo, but, that's exactly what it was. Her first signs were bathroom and dirty clothes issues. She soon progressed to have very severe dementia.
If it is cognitive decline, then, the options are limited. The only real way to avoid it is to accompany the person to the bathroom and ensure they do it properly. Maybe, there are some devices that attach to the toilet to make it larger are available, though, I haven't seen anything like that. (Only higher.) But, complaining, pleading, and reminding, really don't make a difference as the person will forget what you said and/or their brain does not allow them to adjust their behavior.
Of course, a full neurological exam would be an excellent idea to rule some things out and figure out what the problem is.
I'd speak with his Primary too, if you think it's just his bladder. But, how does that explain not washing his hands and smeared feces? I'd speak to his Primary about it.
It sounds like SIL is not helping matters. I'm sensitive to smells too. I can tolerate bleach though, as it doesn't hang around too long. Plus, while I like to be green when possible, if it's a bio-hazard kind of mess, I feel that bleach is required.
I'm genuinely curious. You've got several posters here telling you that your dad's "bad habits" and "laziness" are all signs we saw in our elders that were a clearcut indication of cognitive decline.
Sometimes it is a vision problem. If the toilet, toilet bowl, and floor around it are all light colored it can be harder to see where to aim. This should be resolved by sitting down every time. It can also help to put a colorful rug in front of the toilet and/or using a cleaning-tab thing that makes the toilet water green or blue.
It could be a cognitive issue and this seems more likely, as other poor bathroom practices are involved.
You say "He is all there, it is just his being lazy." And falling out of bed. And screaming in his sleep. Hmmm ...
Why can't you and your wife take vacations or go out to dinner together or a play or have a whole day out of there? Why can't Dad be left alone? In what sense do you have to be a caregiver? What are his impairments?
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