Bluestockings & Orange Wellies: Welcome to the Degu Station!

[ifIwerenotanandroid]

Well, that's self-explanatory, I think.

Previously known as:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5176773-bluestocking-the-gerbical?page=1

So could fuzzy get her hair washed if she sat with her back to the kitchen sink and someone washed it for her?

Do we have time to train a gerbil?

I don't know, and didn't know to ask! Actually, she did say her balance was a bit upset, so maybe it was a precaution against falling.

My mum had both hers done this summer and ended up getting her hair washed at the hairdresser once, and once by a method very much like this. But without the gerbil.

It is about not leaning forward. I had to do some gardening for her too because she couldn't lean forward to do it but it couldn't wait.

I love gardening and do a bit daily. Not doing but will be torture for me.

It's the combo if not bending forward ( causes the pressure in your eyes to rise- bad) and getting water in your eyes - infection risk.

I have long, thick, curly hair. It won't be easy!

( Note to self, based on excellent advice- avoid jumble sales etc)

The Gerbil training has commenced. It's going to be a long few days!!

How many days do you have to follow the rules for?

I'm not sure. Advice ( all from experts) seems to vary between 4 days and a fortnight. I'll be washing it on Monday morning for sure!

I love the Gerbil Wash. I bet they do a lovely ( if scratchy) head massage too.

I think my mum was told a fortnight. She had hers done privately, her partner is currently having his done on the NHS, and the NHS advice does seem less cautious.

I don't think the gerbils are going to be much use at hair washing! They keep asking the trainers to show them how to do it just one more time!

I can't remember if I was told not to wash my hair for a while, but I got eye-shields which I taped over the operated eye [using special gentle tape of course] and used those till I felt comfortable.
3M Opticlude Standard Orthoptic Eye Patches - Box of 20 – Medisave UK
they say they are for children but I found the size just right.
They also come in boxes of 10, which should be enough.

I think I also covered my eye at night, again of my own volition, for a few nights, until I felt braver.

I was told to uncover my eye the day after surgery, to speed up recovery, but I see some online advice that says cover it for a week? Obviously different schools of thought.

It felt a bit scary taking the first dressing off, but my eyes felt 100% fine, and my improved sight was immediately obvious as soon as I took the dressing off the day after the op.
BTW I had sedation because of other conditions, most people don't need it.

You don't want a gerbil washing your hair. Honestly. Don't ask.

You know we're going to ask!!!

@FuzzyPuffling - could you get some dry hair wash caps, like these?

I refer to my previous post...

"... And don't be tempted by the things Amazon try to sell you that resembles a cap that you stick on your head that washes your hair and requires no rinsing! They are awful and just leave you with a head full of slimy greasy hair!"

Although the ones you've linked to are a different brand! DO NOT BUY THE BRAND BELOW. They are awful! Which is probably why i still have lots of them in a drawer!

Hopefully others are better!!!!

I could have had a general anaesthetic for my NHS cataract op, but I just had anaesthetic eye drops. I was also offered a nurse’s hand to hold, which I accepted although I didn’t need it as the op wasn’t painful at all.

I can’t remember exactly what I’d been told about hair washing. I think the idea is that any water which is splashed into your eye might introduce infection, but I think the standard thing is to be using antibiotic eye drops anyway. The consultant warned me not to go swimming for a while afterwards, which some people do but which is definitely a bad idea.

Mine's private ( well, Benenden- funded) but at a clinic that also does all the nhs stuff round here.

Boily says hair wash caps are crap. I bow to her superior knowledge, although what a shiny carapaced beetle knows about hair is anyone's guess.

Weirdly she had hers done at two different clinics, and the advice varied slightly between the two, even though it was the same surgeon in both cases!

I can only attest to the brand I bought. I had high hopes for them, but you know when you feel like you haven't washed the conditioner out of your hair properly and spend all day feeling like your hair is unclean and paranoid that it looks as greasy as hell... The brand I got was that on steroids!

BUT I also don't get on with the spray dry shampoo stuff either so it may well just be a me problem and not a product problem.

You could always buy some but remember to try one prior to the operation in case you need to then go and wash your hair. They must work for people otherwise there wouldn't be so many product listings for them!

Am I the only person who washes their hair in the bath? I'm sure I could do it avoiding either of the problems re eyes.

Mine takes a massive amount of rinsing. Bath water won't do it.
I shall cobble together some Heath Robinson method.
Failing that, I have a wig in the loft!

I do mine in the shower and would probably risk it, bit I started sitting on a stool to shower at least a decade ago, which reduces the danger of slipping.

I used to wash mine in the bath back in the days when i could lie down fully in the bath as a quick way to rinse it! and more importantly get myself back up again! These days the bath lift ruins the bathing experience as it doesn't let me lie back and what's the point of having a bath if you have to sit upright whilst having it!