Aftershave

General
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Just wondering if anyone else has had this since their stroke. Hubby had his stroke last year and once he is washed and dressed he practically bathes in his aftershave. Before he would just do 2 or 3 splashes but now when he puts it on it is so strong. Any ideas on how I get him to put on the minimal amount, Luckily the scent is nice but it is overpowering. He has short term memory so I can tell him not to put on so much but the next day he has forgotten.

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Hello & welcome @Sonia158

it takes quite a lot to raise a new topic on the forum that we can’t say has been dealt with before and you’ve managed it

:slight_smile:

I hope you don’t take this comment the wrong way because it’s only meant in camaraderie but if hubby using too much after shave is a highlight of your post stroke problems then you’ve done well.

I think the starting point which I guess you’ve tried is to tell him that the stroke has reduced his perception of smell? If he doesn’t remember from one day to the next you can tell him each day and he won’t get tired of hearing it and if he does then you’ll know that the message has stuck :slight_smile:

Caio
Simon

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@Sonia158 hi & welcome to the community. Sense of smell can definitely becaffected by stroke. Has he lost his sense of smell completely or is it just reduced? Mine wwnt the other way. I could smell everything really strongly.

I don’t know if it would work the same but to get sensation back in my hand I tried touching lots of different objects. I wonder if getting him to smell lots of different things might help get his smell back to normal levels?

Worth a try?

Best wishes

Ann

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Hi and welcome to this forum. We are a merry band of stroke survivors and their carers and families. There is always someone here to offer some words of wisdom and information, so feel free to jump on and ask away :blush:.

My stroke definitely affected my sense of smell and I can never smell my perfume or scented candles. Just one more thing to deal with following a stroke. Maybe as someone else suggested just keep reminding him (easier said than done I know). Good luck with that, at least it’s a nice smell :wink:.

Regards Sue

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Thanks Sue. Ha ha yes as you say at least it is a nice smell.

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Hi @Sonia158 and welcome to the forum :slightly_smiling_face:

A simple temporary measure is to just put a reminder note on or near his bottle of aftershave saying “Only 3 splashes required”, this is really only until his senses and memory improve with recovery.

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Thats a really good idea putting a reminder note next to the bottle.

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And my hubby’s just asked “what if he still forgets he’s done it and puts more on”. So I suggested you could have a tick box on the note for every day of the week. So once he’s put it on just check it off the note.

I had so many reminders dotted around the place for the same reason after my stroke. Hubby and kids would leave me little ‘don’t forget…’ notes too for appointments and such, even what time we’d need to leave for them :grinning:

It’s just because our short term memory is so taken up with brain repair and recovery in the first 6 months, in order to get as much functionality back onboard. It should get easier over time :wink:

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Good point, I am hoping that he will not put more on as aftershave is upstairs, he comes downstairs and doesnt go back up until bedtime. I am going to have to start putting reminders everywhere as when I leave the room I tell him that I am off to the kitchen etc. and 2-3 minutes he will call out asking where am I?

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Yes, it requires a lot of patience and understanding; it’ll be just as frustrating for him too. The notes are also a good training aid to help retrain his brain with short term and recall, cognition, etc. So keep it up :wink:

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