There are many people who have a medical condition known as Dysphagia (drooling, dribbling or difficulty swallowing excess saliva) including those with Cerebral Palsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke patients, special needs children, those with infirmity and the elderly.
The Dignity Care Bandana style fashion accessory bib for the older child and adult is the brain child of a mother with twenty eight years experience of care-giving for someone less able.
Our vision is to assist individuals and their care-givers with a positive solution for Dysphagia and preserve a sense of dignity. The Dignity Care bandana styled bib is unique in design (design protected) to specifically assist with Dysphagia in a very practical and fashionable way.
The style of the Dignity Care bib is fashioned as a bandana so that when the bandana bib is fastened at the back of the neck (nickel free popper - free size –fits up to a 20"/51 cm neck) folds are created to the front of the bib, on the chest, so that the folds sit to form a ‘pocket’.
The fold/pocket then acts to maximise the fabric content at the point of wetness (saliva). The fold/pocket then doubles functionality to create a bandana style effect, it is unique in shape to maximise salivation absorption and offer dignity through the styling. The pre-trial bibs were tested on very high levels of salivation and the backing remains dry for several hours. The composition of the Dignity Care bandana bib also combines an truly amazing extra speedy drying time after laundry.
The DignityCare bandana bib has a washing tag that can be used for a marker pen if you need to name your garment which is useful if your older child is still in school or the mature adult in a nursing care/day-centre environment. There is a range for the school child in red, blue, pink or green gingham to compliment a school uniform. There is a pattern or colour to suit individual preferences and we are contantly sourcing new fabrics for the mature user. We are often asked for plain fabric bandanas but we have found that plain fabrics seem - without exception - to highlight the salivated area and they also become vulnerable to staining.
The DignityCare fashioned bandana bib is simple, sensible, serviceable, subtle, smart and stylish! We pride ourselves on the high quality of our bandana bibs. Fabrics are sourced very carefully so that the fabric does not darken too much when wet and the special tunnel fleece backing disperses wetness continually. The bandana bib is two layered. We do not use terry towelling as wetness seeps through, or plastic which hardens and cracks over time.
Alternative aprons for adults are longer - waist length oblongs and do not offer the wearer any individuality and dignity because clothes are totally hidden. The apron is backed with a non-absorbent rubber type coating and the fabric does not keep clothing and the chest dry for very long causing the need to constantly change the apron which is primarily inteneded as a feeding aid. Finding a bib for an older child or adult is relatively easy. The difficulty is finding a bib that isn't baby oriented in a traditional sense with squares of terry towelling. They are often too small for practicality and reduce the older child or adult to an infantile appearance.
DignityCare DO NOT offer a bigger version of a baby bib. You will not find that stuff here! It can be disappointing to find websites who retail baby bibs and you sometimes find that the ('handicapped/disabled') ASSISTED LIVING products are subsectioned discreetly where you can purchase a larger by-product of the baby bib. (I've done it!) and our inspiration grew from this frustration. Bandanas on babies look cute, baby bandanas on an older child or adult are undignified and our whole ethos is about Dignity with care.
On a personal note, through DignityCare we actively challenge steroetype labels and we believe that we should become more ability focused on what individuals can do (not labels of handicapped/disabled) in direct resistance to what the body will sometimes not do, so we do not encourage bib sourcing for babies here! We see our bandana bibs as ASSISTED LIVING and we are dedicated to a MEDICAL PRACTICALITY, dignity in care and like-minded folk who share both experience and identification.
We also offer a personalised bandana. We do not make any extra charge. The advantages of adding a name or initials is that it is a great way of opening a dialogue by the wearer who can sometimes have LIMITED communication skills. When someone sees the bandana bib with the wearers name they can initiate conversation and engage immediately with the wearer, (instead of you!) "Hello Laura!" this always produces a big smile from my daughter and it's a great for socialisation. It makes me feel quite proud when someone acknowledges the wearer first instead of waiting for me to make introductions! We recommend that the name or initials are placed on the shoulder of the bandana, this helps to detract from the centre main-stay of the bandana and averts the gaze to the shoulder area rather than accentuating visibility to the middle dribble.
We are ever anxious to keeping our bandana bibs affordable and we have not compromised on quality. From experience, many products esculate in price when attached to the label 'handicapped/disabled' and the need should not justify the profit! We are probably the fairest bib protection which we believe highlights our commitment. We are NOT a business although we are growing and that's great proof that we have a serviceable product that combines the practicalities with the aesthetics.
Our costs are taken by constantly improving the bandana bibs based on constructive comments made through feedback by other care-givers (you know who you are - so a big thank-you to you!) We have invested heavily in the right machinery for a professional and quality finish. To bring our invention (protected) to the right people, we use Ebay as a platform and Ebay take quite a chunk of sales, there are charges for each and every individual listing AND an additional final fee if an item is sold. Paypal also take a final percentage. We are commited to maintaining the dedicated website and there are hidden expenses with cottons, nickel free fasteners and fine silk threads for personalisation. We offer FREE POSTAGE and packing whatever the quantity (Dedicated Dignity Care website and UK mainland only). My time is given freely, sourcing appropriate fabrics, answering emails and posting & packing which sometimes involves a trip to the post office!
In summary, our bandanas look great! They absorb copious amounts of saliva maintaining dryness to clothing and the chest. They dry super-fast after laundry. We try to dispatch the same day (care-role allowing!) by 1st class Royal Mail as I know how exciting it is to get a break-through for a care-user by a care-giver. We offer a no quibble refund on unused items although, it seems, the only returns we get are delighted families and dedicated care-givers who order one bandana bib (maybe like myself with sceptism!) and then return for more!
It is seen so often (yes! I’ve done it too!) mothers and care-givers trying to ad-lib their way mopping-up saliva dribble with tea-towels, flannels, baby bibs and napkins. My daughter wears her bandana accessory with a REAL SENSE OF PRIDE and if you are a care-giver I sincerely hope that the bibs achieve dignity for the person for whom you care – and of course, the bibs also SHOW that YOU care too!