Total hip replacement.

[boswell8228]

Can anyone please tell me if it is possible to ever take a normal bath after a total hip replacement operation.
I am almost at the 3 months post op stage and cannot at the moment see how I will ever be able to get in/down/up/out of a normal bath.
Hoping someone will have managed to do this and be able to give me some hope for taking a normal bath in the future.
Thanks.

[Ethel]

Many people do find getting in and out of the bath relatively easy some weeks after this operation.
I managed it with the aid of a solid stool next to the bath so I could sit on that and sort of shuffle across, but I was never confident and replaced the bath with a large shower.

[coccinelle]

My mother was told that it would be a big risk to have a bath after the op. question of knees being higher than the hips if i remember rightly. As she'd had a couple of friends who'd suffered with their replacements slipping and being in agony until they'd got to hospital, she never ever risked it. But how she longed to soak in a hot bath.
Saying this, I don't think it's the same for men; I think there's a lesser risk.
There are sit in baths available as you'll have noticed in catalogues.

[ethandron]

the risk is exactly the same for men as for women - i wonder where you picked up that bit of mis-information from coccinelle?
i have two resurfaced hips and whilst i can get into and out of the bath, it's really not very easy to sit down and then stand up again. you can get seats which go across the bath which you've probably seen but they don't submerge you totally into the bath water.
i would be totally guided by your doctor or nurse practitioner. it's the risk of dislocation which is the big thing, by allowing your hip to bend less than the 90 degrees. not worth the risk in my opinion, get yourself a shower.

[coccinelle]

I wonder too ethandron...

[patsyann]

I have had my replacement for nearly three years and in every other way I feel back to normal except for having a bath. I use the shower at home now but a couple of weeks ago we were in a hotel with a bath with a hand rail on the wall and so I thought I would give a bath a try. I got in alright but had to gently turn to a kneeling position to pull myself out. I was so worried I would do some damage. I wont try again.I actually find the shower very refreshing and use less hot water.

[white_rose]

I`ve had three hip replacements. One had to be done again after 12 years but my right one has been in for 25 years. i did use an Arjo bathlift for years but we had the bath taken out a couple of years ago and had a large shower installed. I much prefer this as i don`t need any help now to get a shower but I did need a lot of help to get a bath.
There are quite a few different aids available. There is the bath cushion which inflates to lift you up and down but i think they are quite expensive.