Having a shower

I prefer a shower to having a bath these days - although I used to love a soak in the bath.

Have you thought about using a shower stool Luckygirl? I had to use one when I broke my ankle and found it very useful to be able to sit down, although I had to balance on one leg for washing certain parts - and the shower head detaches too so feet etc can get a good rinse.

I am very short-sighted and with glasses off and hearing aids out I feel quite disoriented. I lose the soap
I use a scrubber and soap it well to start with.

A hairdresser I used to go to said that she used the shower to get wet, then turned it off while she used the soap, then turned it on again to rinse.
That was to save money though.

I do wish manufacturers would put SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER in much larger print on their bottles!

Agree Jalima.....when you're in the shower, you can never tell the difference between the shampoo bottle and conditioner. As most of us do, we probably buy the same brand of both. The answer I think, is to buy two different brands, so the bottles will be different.

Jamila10 - I keep shampoo at hand level on a wee shelf half way up shower fitment and put conditioner on base of shower so I don't get them mixed up. As regards bath v shower debate the best decision we ever made was not to remove bath and convert to wet room as latterly with many health problems and on a high dosage of steriods DH could not tolerate the shower on his skin which had become very thin so it was back to baths albeit sitting on a bath board but we did manage.

Two very sensible suggestions crazyH and jacqu10
(why didn't I think of that)

I did 'wash' my hair with conditioner the other day but soon realised the difference!

You could always use soap and conditioner solid bars and save the planet from plastic bottles! The soap is round and the conditioner is oval so they're easy to tell apart by feel alone.

uk.lush.com/article/mighty-shampoo-bar

I hate showering lately. It's all tied-up with the onset of a 'can't be bothered' attitude about almost everything. And then there's all that drying! I wish someone would invent a body-length blow dryer. You could just twirl around in front of it and be dry in seconds. (And no towels to wash!)

(And if anyone's wondering... Yes! I do shower daily!)

But I've been reminded of an old lady in a care home I used to manage when I was young. She too, 'couldn't be bothered', and when she was helped into the bath by care-workers would protest, "You only need the 3 F's - FACE, FEET AND FANNY!"

get a bath step. my shower is in the bath so its difficult to get my leg over(smile) .have asked council for lower bath.. no answer there yet..i cant get up from sitting position so tend to turn on my knees and heave myself up.i got no problem washing my hair though. i got handles by the shower. so i can hold on when i wobble. get a shelf for the shower corner...i like a bath on a sunday. my bit of luxury...

I don’t think I’ve ever actually washed my feet in the shower unless I’ve been walking on really dusty ground in flip flops. I figure the shampoo, soap and water flooding down do the job effectively. Have never suffered from smelly feet so must be doing something right. I never dry them either.

The most powerful shower I have ever experienced (and yes, I prefer showers although I have both at home) was in a top floor room in a B&B in Douglas IoM.
It nearly knocked me sideways but it was marvellously cleansing after a day of walking, or lying on a beach getting covered with sand.
Bathing is more of a ritualistic thing but I never like to lie and soak. The water gets cold and you are lying in your own 'dirty' water.
Showers all the way for me but I never wash my hair in the shower. I lean over the bath and wash it separately. I have those bath and basin inserts which trap hair and I never brush my hair anywhere but over the bath too. That way I can rinse any hairs into the trap and remove them, instead of having hairs in other rooms clogging up the vacuum.
One of my quirks.

Oh, I love a shower and have one every day including hairwash, don't feel clean unless I do.
We had our bath taken out too and now the family bathroom has a huge walk-in shower, but I tend to use the shower in the en-suite, which we had enlarged a couple of years ago.
But I cannot have a shower on my own; one of other of the cats just had to sit and peer through the glass screen door at me! Missing the days when it would be DH peering through to make sure I was ok!

A soak in tthe bath listening to The Seekers concert on youtube and a glass of wine. bliss! (topping up hot water continually.)
If I'm energetic enough I will have quick shower afterwards. Baths arent as hygienic as showers.

my new house has an en suite shower, it looks big enough and I hope is non-slip, straight sliding glass door, I think it is an electric shower. I bought 2 grip suction handles from amazon, very good reviews

There is a bathroom with a shower over and glass folding screen. I cannot ever see me using it, the bath is too long for me and there is nothing to grab while I get out of it. I haven`t had a bath for 9 years, maybe I will look at those electric bath lifts one day, winter, to get warm and have a relaxing soak but now too dangerous to get out

Re showering away, including at the gym. A friend is recovering from legionnaires. It nearly killed him and 10% die

What I don`t like about a shower is the cleaning, which I do every time, mainly with a squeegee, sometimes with a spray on shower clean

You could always use soap and conditioner solid bars
I’m a convert too, SueDonim. I use Friendly, since DD recommended them - pure ingredients, hand poured in the UK, every bit as ethical as LUSH, but about a fifth of the price. I don’t think they do conditioner though (I don’t use it).

dizzyblonde, I’m intrigued. What do you mean, you don’t dry your feet?

Since surgery I can't get out of the bath anymore so shower every day. (Twice in the summer (wear a shower cap for one of the showers as don't want to wash my hair twice)). But I always preferred showers anyway and only had a soak occasionally.

Being unable to bend to get to important places I use the bidet before I get into the shower (even a removable head wouldn't help as I can't bend to soap the area).

I find when we go away though that they are rare and if I'm not extremely careful I can get very sore. So I bought a plastic portable bidet. It was inexpensive (Amazon) and has a small guest soap sized slot at the front. I put it on the loo (sits on the seat and into the loo so it doesn't slip. But beware, you have to make sure it's firmly in place as I sat on it once not realising I hadn't positioned it quite correctly and it pinched the skin on my leg, ow, ow, ow . Fill it with some warm water, and then you can sit on it and get right underneath for a soap and rinse. Lift off and tip into the toilet afterwards and rinse out.

I bought one for my sister when she was very ill and couldn't get into the bath or shower but was becoming sore. A great little piece of kit if you struggle to get into the bath or shower temporarily and don't want the expense of having alterations.

Quite easy to pack also as you can put it into a case and put things in it or around it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-bidet-bath-Plastic-sitting/dp/B00G1EPOZ0/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?psc=1&keywords=plastic+bidet+portable&tag=gransnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1550742885&sr=8-1-spons

This is such an old idea - and there is often difficulty in acceptance of considering it but my mum just wouldn't be without her bidet.

I asked why she felt it was so important to her [as we couldn't understand it at all] and it's the exact reason that luckygirl has mentioned.

Mum washes all the relevant points in a secure position - no risk of slips - she is warm as its possible to wash all the nethers whilst still remaining half clothed and warm. It's comfortable to be seated during the process and she can even use it to wash under her arms when needed.

Seems like I might need to put one on my wish list as I get older.

Like many posters I love my rainforest walk-in shower at home, and wash my hair every day.
But showering away from home is often stressful. The first one to use a hotel/b&b shower has to work out how to use it, and then get the temperature right. They then report back to the other (if it is complicated), but the second user then has to deal with wet cold shower curtains/stiff unyielding shower frames, wet towels and puddles of water on the floor.
If I go first I usually manage to flood the bathroom floor!
Home sweet home please.

I love a proper bath, showers are vile dislike any of me not being enveloped in that glorious warmth. When travelling and have no choice but a shower I yearn for that glorious soak. Enveloped in huge bath sheets at the end, what is there not to like. Your soap, shampoo and conditioner at hand as you lie in that fragrant water, no need to focus particularly. Then lie on your bed to put moisturiser on and relax all clean, fragrant and warm.

Totally agree showering is a nightmare. I can no longer get out of the bath so have no choice but to shower. I tend to hold my breath and panic and get out as quick as I can. Who can think of an alternative.

I shower daily. It's not my favourite thing but has to be done. The last time I had a bath I found it hard to get out because I have a frozen shoulder and couldn't heave myself up. There is a common myth that old ladies smell of wee. I dread someone thinking that about me when I'm older.

Sorry, it was smug of me to talk about the pleasures of bathing when you are unable because of disability, how about getting one of the baths that are modified so you can, the papers are full of them. Away from home it would still be the nightmare of understanding how the shower functions, sorry no suggestions there. Are there any gransnet posters that has one of these baths?

I agree. Can’t get out of bath now so have no choice but to shower. I hold my breath and get out as quick as I can. I dread showering. Any other ideas.

We have a corner shelf in the shower cubicle to put soap, shampoo, conditioner etc but we were always knocking one of the bottles off so DH sent for a dispenser that is now fixed to the wall. It has three compartments, you just press when you want soap, shampoo or conditioner. It makes life a lot easier. We recently fitted two grab bars, one to hold when you get in the shower and one at the side to hold on to when you lift your feet to wash them, these make us feel more secure. When I shampoo and condition my hair I just take the shower attachment off the rod that holds it so the water doesn’t go over my face as I dislike that too. We are OK about lifting our feet at the moment but I have seen mats that help you wash your feet. It is a long time since either of us had a bath and if I did I might feel worried about getting out of it. DH has no problems getting out of the bath but the last time he had one he was most uncomfortable because of his bony bottom (less cushioning due to weight loss).

In the USA the sides of baths are much lower than U.K. ones so you can easily step into them. I think that is a much more practical idea.