Sponge Bath Instructions

Contrary to popular belief, you can clean yourself or a patient well using a bar of soap and a washcloth. Whether you're recovering from surgery or living in an isolated village without running water, a sponge bath becomes your best route to good hygiene. Those with limited mobility may also require a sponge bath to prevent drowning or slipping. Identify the reason for a sponge bath before bathing someone, as this will prevent you from accidentally wetting healing wounds or sores.

Things You'll Need

• Anti-slip floor mat
• Absorbent washcloth or sponge
• 1 to 2 gallons of warm water
• Non-irritating soap
• Spray bottle

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Instructions

• 1

  Place the anti-slip mat in the bathtub before having the patient step inside. Ask the patient to sit as though he was taking a normal bath, with his head and chest resting against the back end of the tub.

• 2

  Saturate the washcloth in warm water and gently move the wet cloth all over the patient's skin. Ask the patient to rest any bandaged limbs on the side of the tub, to avoid accidentally wetting those areas.

• 3

  Squeeze a quarter-size amount of non-irritating soap onto the washcloth and create lather. Massage the patient's skin with the soapy cloth, starting at the top of the body and working your way downward. Focus on the odorous areas like the feet and underarms, if possible.

• 4

  Use a squirt bottle of warm water to moisten the unaffected skin near a wound or sore. A squirt bottle gives you more control over the water's direction than a saturated cloth. Gently use your fingers to clean the skin around, but not on, the wound and spray-rinse the soap afterward, using the bottle again.

• 5

  Re-soak the cloth in clean warm water. Rinse the soap off the body by making broad, sweeping motions with the washcloth over the skin.

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• 6

  Pat the patient's skin dry using a clean, soft towel. Do not rub the skin, as this could cause irritation.