When hands and fingers become stiff and swollen, daily activities that others take for granted – opening soda cans, buttoning a shirt, simply writing a note – become painful, difficult or even impossible.
Fortunately, ingenious tools exist that make it easier to button clothing, pull up zippers, turn doorknobs and lamp switches, put on socks, clip toenails and many other small daily activities that people with arthritis can struggle with. Other items are made for putting on jewelry, turning a housekey or car key, holding up a book while reading or gripping a pen or pencil.
Where to Find Useful Tools
These “gadgets” can be found locally in specialty stores that sell durable medical equipment, but more and more, they’re also showing up in drugstores and discount chains such as Wal-Mart or Walgreen’s. Many orthopedic clinics, rheumatologists’ offices and physical therapy clinics have copies of catalogs that sell aids for arthritis patients. These healthcare providers can also suggest websites like Aids for Arthritis, Inc., or Sammons Preston that sell household gadgets online.
Kitchen Gadgets
Numerous kitchen implements with oversized padded handles can be found in catalogs and in most kitchen stores, as well as in the discount stores mentioned above. Specialty stores also sell silverware with specially designed grips and can- or jar-openers made for those with weak grips or painful hands. Also handy in the kitchen are small stepstools and “reachers,” which can help arthritis patients retrieve items from high places without strain. If you like to cook but have difficulty standing for long periods, a walker with a folding seat may give you a needed rest. Walker accessories, such as carrying bags, baskets and trays, can also help the cook with arthritis.
While you're in the kitchen, check out some of the ideas included in the related article on Real Home Treatments for Arthritis. It discusses some home remedies for pain and stress that you can prepare yourself.
Help in the Bathroom
An elevated toilet seat is an inexpensive addition that can make visiting the restroom easier and more comfortable for anyone with pain in the knees and hips. A simple, no-frills seat can be found in most drugstores, but specialty medical stores carry models with locks that keep them more stable, handles to assist in standing, and removable buckets for easier cleaning.
For those who have limited range of motion, catalogs and medical supply stores offer a type of reacher made especially for using toilet paper after going to the bathroom. This aid can provide a measure of privacy for people who need just a little assistance in their personal hygiene.
Likewise, many of these catalogs and stores sell long-handled combs and hairbrushes and special hair-dryer stands that make grooming easier for people with weakened grips or limited range of motion. Another useful tool is made to help with shampooing the hair: it features a long handle and a brush-like head at the other end, with rows of soft rubber knobs that massage shampoo into the hair.
The Little Things in Life
Sometimes it’s the little things that can be most frustrating for people with arthritis. But by asking a few questions and shopping online or in local stores, an arthritis patient can find helpful little things that will spare swollen joints and make life easier both today and in the future.
See Also:
Mobility Aids for Elderly and Disabled Adults
 |
