For people living with arthritis, daily tasks can prove difficult. Getting dressed or cooking a meal can become painful experiences. Therefore, it is important that people with arthritis know how to make these tasks less challenging. Fortunately, there are plenty of household gadgets for managing arthritis.
In this article, we look at 5 of the best household gadgets for people with arthritis.
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a condition that affects the joints. The most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which cause pain and inflammation. Osteoarthritis affects around 8.5 million people in the UK, whereas rheumatoid arthritis affects over 430,000.
Most people living with arthritis experience restricted movement alongside the pain and inflammation. This can impede mobility and present an obstacle during everyday tasks such as buttoning shirts or tying shoelaces. Gripping kitchen utensils can also prove difficult, and in severe cases moving around the house can also be painful.
The chances of developing arthritis increase with age. However, women are also more at risk.
Household Gadgets for Arthritis
Living with arthritis shouldn’t stop you or your loved ones from enjoying a normal life. Although many everyday items aren’t designed with arthritis in mind, some simple adaptations are all it takes to make tasks more manageable. Here are 5 of our favourites.
1. Reach Extenders
If you or a loved one are living with arthritis, it’s important not to put too much strain on the joints. Bending over and reaching up can both put unnecessary strain on the body. Fortunately, a reach extender makes it easier to accomplish these tasks. Instead of bending, leaning, or stretching, simply use the reach extender to grab whatever you need to pick up.
Using a reach extender could be ideal for if you drop something or just need to retrieve something from the top shelf of your cupboard. Moreover, many reach extenders are easy to grip, making them perfect for people with arthritis.
You can purchase a reach extender from various retailers. One of the best we could find is available from Complete Care Shop.
2. Adaptive Cutlery and Utensils
Most cutlery you can buy is designed to be sleek and stylish. Whilst this is often fine for people with full mobility in their hands, thin cutlery can be difficult to use if you have arthritis. Fortunately, several brands have recognised the need for more practical cutlery and utensils.
Adaptive cutlery comes with thick but lightweight handles that allow for a looser grip without dropping the utensil. There are a wide range of utensils available, from regular knives and forks for eating to larger spoons and fish slices for preparing meals. You can also get adaptive knives to ensure you keep a tight grip when cutting meat and vegetables.
A range of adaptive cutlery and utensils can be found on Essential Aids.
3. Ring Pull Can Opener
We live in a world of modern conveniences, but sometimes what is convenient for one person isn’t convenient for another. Ring pulls on canned food make it easier for most people to open. Whilst using a tin opener can be a challenge for someone living with arthritis, ring pulls remain difficult to grab. Fortunately, there is a household gadget that can help.
With thick handles for easy grip, ring pull can openers use a narrow hook to grip the ring pull. The shape of the can opener then lifts the lid when you pull back. The easy-to-use design of these can openers means you won’t be fiddling around for long. The only downside is that they may not be much use if your cans don’t have ring pulls.
Mobility Smart sell ring pull can openers for a very reasonable price.
4. Electric Can Opener
If the cans you need to open don’t have a ring pull, there is a solution. Instead of buying an easy-grip manual can opener, skip all the fiddling around and buy an electric can opener. With an electric can opener, you simply secure your can and turn on the device. It will do all the hard work for you, allowing you to focus on other things.
Some electric can openers can be difficult to use at first. It may take some practice to get used to connecting the can you want to open. However, once you know how to use an electric can opener, you won’t want to go back to struggling with manual tools.
Electric can openers are available from Argos and many other retailers.
5. Dressing Stick
Bending over to pull on trousers, socks, and shoes can be difficult and painful if you have arthritis. Buttons and zips can also be very fiddly. However, we recognise that it’s not always possible to ask for help. Moreover, if you want to maintain your independence you may prefer to continue dressing yourself.
A dressing stick can make these tasks easier. It works like a reach extender especially for clothes. Many have a shoehorn on one end and a hook on the other. Using this tool, you won’t need to stoop or stretch to dress yourself. You can also buy a helpful tool that makes it simpler to push buttons through their holes or pull a zip up.
You can find an affordable dressing stick on Medisave.
Help When You Need Us
Those are our top 5 gadgets for arthritis that are sure to make life a little easier. Another way to maintain your independence at home is to consider a personal alarm from Careline365. With a personal alarm, help is always available at the press of a button.
A personal alarm is ideal for people who struggle to move around at home or who are vulnerable to falls. If you or a loved one need help, simply press the button on your alarm pendant and an alert will be sent to our 24/7 Care Team. They will then arrange help by calling your emergency contacts or, if necessary, the emergency services.
To find out more about the Careline365 alarm service, read our guide or view our products. You can also call us on 0800 101 3333 and our friendly team will answer your questions.
Disclaimer: Please note that Careline365 is not affiliated with any of the webpages linked above.
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