Your life becomes more difficult when you have arthritis in your hands. It's often too painful to move your fingers and your grip may become weak. Fortunately, there are devices on the market that can help you with activities of daily living so you can remain somewhat independent. Here are some tips for getting dressed when you have problems using your hands.
Buttons And Zippers
You should give your wardrobe a makeover so you can wear clothes around the house that slip on and off easily. However, when you leave the home, you may want to dress up, especially if you're going to church or to a nice restaurant. It's possible to manipulate buttons and zippers if you have the right equipment. A button hook is a small device you can grasp in the palm of your hand. The hook slips through the button hole, grabs the button, and pulls it through. A zipper pull has a handle on one end, and a hook on the other that grabs the hole in the end of a zipper so you can pull it up. It saves you from having to grasp a small zipper and using your finger strength to pull it up or down.
Shoes And Socks
It can be tricky putting socks on and taking them off if you can't grasp the ends with your fingers. If you have to wear compression stockings, it's even more difficult. This is an example of a sock aid you can buy: to remove a sock, you slide a long flexible plastic piece down your sock to lift it and remove it from your leg and foot. To put a sock on, you can position it over a pair of plastic holders, place your foot between them, and then use long handles attached to the sides to pull the holders up your leg until the sock is in place.
Fortunately, shoes aren't as frustrating to put on and off. You can choose to wear shoes that slip on with the help of a shoe horn that has a long handle. However, if you want to wear athletic shoes, you can purchase elastic shoe laces you don't need to tie.
Articles Of Clothing
A long reaching tool is very handy for pulling clothing out of the closet and positioning it so you can step into it or pull it over your head. These tools have big hooks on one end, so all you have to do is grasp the pole in your palm and grab your pants by a belt loop or a top by the collar. This tool will help you pull up your pants if you can't grasp them with your fingers. It can help you pick up articles of clothing and anything else you can snag with the hook on the end. One of these long multipurpose tools is especially helpful if your arthritis also makes it difficult for you to bend or stretch, since you'll be able to grasp things out of your usual reach.
If it's difficult for you to get dressed and do other activities you used to take for granted because of the arthritis in your hands or elsewhere, you should visit a medical supply store and look at all the handicapped equipment and supplies available that can help you. You'll find all kinds of gadgets to help with cooking, eating, and bathing, as well as dressing. They can save you a lot of frustration and make your life easier.
