Over to you

In our new regular feature, we ask for your top tips on different aspects of managing everyday life with PH. This issue, we asked our Facebook followers for their advice on bathing and showering…

“I have a bath board to shower with. It’s a white board with a small handle on the side that fits across my bath [which has a shower head]. If I’m having a bad day I can use it, but if I’m having a good day and I can stand, then I don’t tend to use it.” Debbie Taylor

“I only very occasionally take a bath as I find my heart races for quite a while afterwards. If I do, I only take a shallow one and keep the door open so there’s no steam, and so I can call for help if I need it. We have changed our shower to a double-headed one, with a fixed overhead and a handheld one, so I can just stand under the spray or hold it to shower if I’m sitting down. I no longer have an IV line, but when I did the handheld version was essential so I could keep the water away from my line as much as possible. I used Press’n Seal [a brand of food wrap] to keep the line dry, which was easier to remove than ordinary cling film.” “I use a stool to sit on when showering and washing my hair. I have an IV pump, so I make sure I have the line well wrapped with clingfilm, and then place the pump on a chair nearby, outside of the curtain.” Judith Wilding

“I have an IV line and when I shower, I stand with my back to the shower spray, directing that at the top of my back to avoid the water running down my chest and wetting my dressing. I hold the shower head by hand to direct the spray to rinse myself. I never use an ‘overhead rainfall’ type shower head as I can’t easily control the flow of water, and if my dressing gets wet it needs to be changed - and that’s just an extra job I’d rather not do.” Cas Lawson

“I have a thick towelling robe, which I put on when I get out of the shower, then go and lay on the bed. Once I’ve had a rest, I take it off, and hey presto, I’m all dry without any effort.” Paula Joanne Smitham

Julie Royle

“I find baths and steam make me breathless, so instead I stick to showers and have the door open to remove steam. I also have a shower chair so I'm not wasting my energy standing up. And I have the shower head hanging up and pointing down, so I don't need to hold it and can just sit under. Using 2in1 shampoo and conditioner, instead of separate ones, reduces activity. And I dry myself on the shower chair, so I'm sitting down. Then I lay down immediately afterwards, to rest, before getting dressed. Finally, showering in the evening is my top tip – if I shower before bed at night, I can rest and sleep straight afterwards.” Sarah Marshall

Next time: Do you have any tips or tricks for carrying out housework with PH? If you’ve found something that works well for you, let us know and we’ll share it for others. Send your tips to media@phauk.org