The future is here and it is a shower chair that is really a SHOWER chair.

I wish this shower chair, the Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair, was around about 20 to 25 years ago because it would have made my life a lot easier. Let me explain. In the past I have worked at several psychiatric hospitals, primarily within the geriatric unit, and I have experienced my share of assisting patients with their personal hygiene, and this shower chair would have been a wonderful addition to the routine. Many times a patient will need various levels of assistance when bathing, usually taking a shower. Sometimes the caregiver will be helping the patient to sit on a shower bench and then basically washing the patient. Many times the caregiver will be wet afterward while at the same time breathing a sigh of relief that nobody got injured during the most dangerous procedure of the day, the shower.

The wet and soapy hard-tiled floors of a shower is the last place where the caregiver and patient want to do a lot of moving around even though that is often the case during these hygienic exercises. When using the Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair, the fairly well functioning patient will be able to sit down and have some privacy while being able to thoroughly wash themself without having much, if any, assistance from a caregiver. One of the best aspects about the Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair is that it can basically, automatically clean the user's entire body without him or her having to stand up or do other far-reaching dangerous movements.

With its one-to-three Waterpik® shoulder nozzles above the user and the perineal nozzle underneath, the user can be cleaned from head to toe and everywhere in between. Made with rustproof white PVC and reinforced at the stress points, this shower chair can be bought in three different styles: as a standard weight-bearing chair for walk-in showers; as a bariatric chair that can be used in walk-in showers, or as a tub chair that is sized for standard household bathtubs. Additionally, the buyer can choose having just the perineal nozzle while a regular wall-based shower head is used for the bather, or a combination of the perineal nozzle and two Waterpik shoulder nozzles can be chosen, or a combination of all three of these nozzles and a Waterpik® head nozzle can be included.

The user will sit on a soft and secure open-front seat that also comes with a quick drying mesh back and a patient privacy cover, while using the flexible goose-necked shower heads (two shoulder nozzles and one head nozzle) which can be aimed anywhere on the user's body, helping to completely clean the body while also helping to eliminate over spray and a watery and dangerous after-shower mess outside the shower stall or bathtub. Optional features for the shower chair include swing arms for easy ingress/egress, privacy wraps, and casters for mobility. Every chair comes with a body wash dispenser, eliminating the searching and stretching for a bar of soap.

The Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair is great for the caregiver too. Due to its all-encompassing whole-body showering capability, the caregiver can stay more to the outside of the shower, allowing more of a supervision attendance and less of a “hands-on” effort, especially with the often invasive and embarrassing perineal swipe and clean. By allowing the patient, or user, more independence in his or her personal hygiene, the patient’s desire to bathe will increase, leading to improved personal hygiene and health.

Using the Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair will enhance accessibility of bathing for the elderly, handicapped or weakened individuals, helping to improve their personal hygiene and increasing security for hygiene routines throughout the whole medical facility or at a personal, private home. Since the time of childhood and throughout most everyone's whole lives, they have bathed themselves, taking responsibility with their own personal hygiene. But when the time comes in life when assistance is needed in bathing, many emotions will come into play. The idea of needing help with one of the most personal functions of a person’s life that he or she has been able to do alone for years can interject feelings such as embarrassment, inadequacy, resentment, fear, discomfort, anger, and even depression. Using a Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair can restore privacy and a sense of pride and accomplishment to a patient’s life again. To be able to regain something that was lost is a wonderful gift for anyone.

It has been said that cleanliness is next to godliness and using a Summer Rain Deluxe Shower Chair can produce hosannas of joy and happiness from both caregivers and patients alike.

Bill Stock
Executive Editor,
Content & Social Media Services
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO