14. Getting more help

Other sources of support or information

  • GP or practice nurse.
  • Pharmacist.
  • Local Bladder and Bowel service (ask your Healthcare professional for a referral or contact them directly).
  • www.continenceproductadvisor.org
  • Bladder and Bowel UK – www.bbuk.org.uk or call their national helpline.
  • Alzheimer’s Society, including information on dealing with topics such as aggression or carer burnout – www.alzheimers.org.uk or 0333 150 3456
  • Carers UK for support for unpaid carers - www.carersuk.org
  • www.gov.uk for information on benefits and financial support.
  • Age UK for a wide range of information.
  • Dementia UK including dementia health advice.

Ask for help from your healthcare professional if…

  • The person you care for has new continence problems - they can check for any problems such as infection or constipation that can be treated.
  • Something changes (for example more incontinence or more distressed) and you don’t know how to manage.
  • The person has smelly pee or frequent or painful peeing.
  • If the person has broken skin.
  • You can’t cope with continence or toilet use problems – ask for help before crisis point.
  • You feel the situation is unsafe.
  • You need help with ‘moving and handling’ – options to help protect you and the person you’re caring for.

Funding Acknowledgement

This work is independent research by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research (SSCR) on behalf of the NIHR Three Schools’ Dementia Research Programme. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR SSCR, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This resource was created as part of the DINAH project funded by Alzheimer’s Society through grant AS-012-JF17 to Dr Cathy Murphy.

This guide was developed with the support of many people living with dementia, carers and nurses. Their valued contributions have shaped the content and style of the guide.

Copyright Statement

A practical guide to help carers to manage dementia and continence problems. Copyright 2022, University of Southampton. All rights reserved: the copyright and intellectual property rights in this guide and the material contained herein are owned by the University of Southampton.

Photography

This website contains stock photography and is used for illustrative purposes only, any person depicted is a model.