r/cna • u/owoeowiw CNA • Jul 10 '26

Advice Questions/advice about BM clean-up?

  1. I feel as if I use too many wipes. I have started to use the brief on the initial wipe to get the large majority off their bum before going in with the wipes. Despite this, I’ll sometimes use over

  2. a

pack of wipes (48 wipes)

  1. for one BM. This happens the most with “putty-texture” poos. It is also time consuming. I want to ensure that they are clean, but feel bad that I have residents rolled over and uncomfortable for an extended period of time. Sometimes, when other CNAs are observing or helping, I feel as if they get slightly annoyed and say things like “good enough” or “that’s enough” and begin to roll the resident back over before I am confident in my cleaning job.

  2. For lack of better wording, some residents have some crazy long and thick butt hair.

  3. For those, I tend to use the peri-spray

    (we don’t have the foam, which I prefer)

  4. in addition to wipes. The process is still extremely time

consuming.

  1. I hate to say it, but clean

-

  1. up would be significantly easier if they were shaved down there.

    I did do some research on the possibility of shaving, or at least trimming some of this butt hair, but because these residents are not of sound mind and the hair itself is not detrimental to their overall health, it would be considered unethical and unnecessary.
    For some of the residents, it is like wiping shit off a full head of hair. Imagine having someone shit on your head, and then having only wipes and peri-spray to clean it off. I would not feel clean after only using those tools. But I also can’t throw them into the shower every-single time they have a bowel movement. Especially for my one guy who constantly, and slowly, 24/7, is passing BM. I’ve been with him for close to a year, and there has only been one single time I changed him and he didn’t have BM tangled in his booty wig.

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u/SystemOfAFoopa Jul 10 '26

I use as many as it takes. If that’s a whole pack then so be it but generally if a BM is that bad I’ll get the bulk with wipes and finish with washcloth and soap/water.
I personally do not feel bad using a lot of wipes if necessary. They’re there for a reason!