Weakness & Paralysis
One-sided weakness can make standing, pivoting and transferring difficult or unsafe.
Stroke Recovery & In-Bed Toileting Support
When toileting becomes harder after a stroke.
A stroke can suddenly affect strength, balance, mobility, communication, judgment and bladder or bowel control. For families, toileting can quickly become one of the hardest parts of daily care.
Carebidet provides automated, no-transfer, in-bed toileting care for people who are bed bound or significantly mobility challenged.
Why stroke changes toileting
Toileting depends on more than bladder control.
A bathroom routine requires communication, movement, balance, judgment, timing and hygiene. Stroke can affect several of these abilities at once.
Balance & Coordination
A survivor may take a few steps yet still be unable to complete a bathroom transfer safely.
Communication Changes
Aphasia or other communication problems can make it hard to alert a caregiver in time.
Cognition & Sequencing
Attention, judgment, memory and task sequencing can interfere with independent toileting.
Urinary or Fecal Incontinence
Loss of bladder or bowel control can add urgency, cleanup, bedding changes and distress.
Caregiver Dependence
Transfers, clothing, hygiene and repositioning may require another person’s help.
The transfer burden
Sometimes the problem is simply getting there.
A stroke survivor may know they need to go, yet weakness, poor balance or limited mobility can make the transfer itself difficult or unsafe.
- Bed-to-wheelchair, commode or toilet transfers
- Standing and pivoting with weakness or poor balance
- Clothing management, cleanup and return-to-bed assistance
- Nighttime toileting when both survivor and caregiver are tired
Research on stroke survivors supports an important point: continence problems after stroke can be closely connected to immobility and dependence, not only to loss of bladder or bowel control.
Communication & toileting
What if they know they need to go, but can’t tell you?
Stroke-related aphasia can affect speaking and understanding. A survivor may recognize the need to urinate or have a bowel movement but be unable to communicate it clearly or quickly enough for a caregiver to respond.
The family challenge
Care can become a cycle of watching, checking, guessing and reacting after an accident—especially when the person cannot get to the bathroom independently.
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The Carebidet difference
Carebidet detects urine or feces and can begin waste removal, washing and drying without requiring the person to first call out, press a button or explain what happened.
How Carebidet Helps
Toileting care can happen while the person remains in bed.
Carebidet is designed for people who are bed bound or significantly mobility challenged. Instead of moving the person to a bathroom, commode or bedpan, the system manages the toileting event in bed.
Detect
Sensors recognize urine or feces when elimination occurs.
Remove
Waste is moved through a sealed system into the Carebidet unit.
Clean
Warm water automatically washes the perineal area.
Dry
Warm air helps leave the area clean, dry and more comfortable.
No routine toileting transfer is required.
For the right user, that can mean less standing, pivoting, lifting, bedpan positioning and hands-on cleanup.
Supporting both sides of care
For the survivor. For the family caregiver.
For the stroke survivor
Preserving dignity as daily routines change.
When mobility or communication changes after a stroke, toileting can become one of the most personal losses of independence. In-bed automated care can reduce repeated handling, bedpan positioning and some of the embarrassment associated with accidents and intimate cleanup.
For the family caregiver
Less of the hands-on care families rarely talk about.
A stroke-specific qualitative study of family caregivers managing urinary or fecal incontinence described four central experiences: chaos, hypervigilance, exhaustion and creating a new life.
Source: Tseng CN, Huang GS, Yu PJ, Lou MF. A Qualitative Study of Family Caregiver Experiences of Managing Incontinence in Stroke Survivors. PLOS ONE. 2015. Read the study →
Published evidence
What the Research Tells Us
Published stroke research helps explain why toileting can become so difficult for survivors and the families caring for them—from incontinence and mobility loss to communication challenges and caregiver exhaustion.
Incontinence after stroke
Incidence and Correlates of Incontinence in Stroke Patients
Among 135 consecutive stroke patients, urinary incontinence occurred in 51% and fecal incontinence in 23% within the first year. Immobility and dependency were important correlates.
View on PubMed →Family caregiver experience
Managing Incontinence in Stroke Survivors
Family caregivers of stroke survivors described chaos, hypervigilance, exhaustion and the need to create a new life around continence care.
Read full study →Caregiver burden
Factors Affecting Burden on Caregivers of Stroke Survivors
Urinary incontinence was associated with caregiver burden, along with long caregiving hours and disrupted nighttime sleep.
View on PubMed →Aphasia & caregiving
Caregivers of Aphasic vs. Nonaphasic Stroke Survivors
Caregivers of stroke survivors with aphasia reported greater task difficulty, with communication among the most upsetting and difficult issues.
View on PubMed →Current evidence
Urinary Incontinence in Stroke Patients: Meta-analysis
A 2024 meta-analysis of 21 studies and 7,327 patients estimated post-stroke urinary incontinence at 38% and identified multiple functional risk factors.
View on PubMed →Additional Support
Stroke Support & Resources
Trusted independent organizations that may help stroke survivors, families, and caregivers find information, support, and practical guidance.
American Stroke Association
Stroke recovery, caregiver guidance, support and care navigation.
National Aphasia Association
Communication and aphasia support for survivors and care partners.
Family Caregiver Alliance
Practical caregiver guidance, education and state-by-state resources.
Stroke Onward
Emotional recovery, identity, relationships and life after stroke.
VA Stroke Caregiver Resources
Stroke caregiver education and practical resources for Veterans and families.
World Stroke Organization
International recovery, caregiver and life-after-stroke resources.
These organizations are independent of COHealth Solutions and are provided as potential resources for individuals, families, and caregivers. Inclusion does not imply affiliation or endorsement.
Stroke Recovery & Care at Home
Make toileting one less thing the family has to struggle with.
For stroke survivors who are bed bound or significantly mobility challenged, Carebidet provides automated in-bed toileting care designed to support dignity while reducing some of the physical demands placed on family caregivers.
Carebidet is an assistive toileting system. It does not treat stroke or cure urinary or fecal incontinence. Individual care requirements should be discussed with appropriate healthcare professionals.