Increase Your Independence With Daily Living Aids
We all strive towards an independent way of life but some can face more challenges in daily living than others.
If you suffer with restricted mobility, general tasks around the home can become quite daunting.
There is of course a huge array of specialised equipment out there that can assist in making life easier, but some items can carry a hefty price tag and can be too cumbersome or unnecessarily complicated.
Here is a quick glance at some of useful and simple to use daily living aids that are available on the market right now.
Kitchen Aids The kitchen is always one of the busiest rooms of any home and with it comes its own set of challenges.
Preparing a meal can be quite tricky if you're unable to grip things properly but there are some simple kitchen devices that can help along the way.
Food preparation boards come in all shapes and sizes with a wide variety of functions.
A good board will always come with non-slip feet to ensure it remains in place during use.
These boards can come with spikes for holding fruit and vegetables in place allowing you to work with just one hand.
They can also come with built in graters and slicers and a whole manner of gripping devices for holding bigger food stuffs such as bread in place.
Once you have your food stuffs securely in place on your board, you can then also use a slightly different type of utensil to prepare it.
Utensils such as a graters, slicers and knives can come with a right angled handle.
If you use one of these it gives you maximum grip in a natural position with no need to twist your wrist around too much.
Another area in the kitchen that can prove a challenge to anyone is opening bottles and jars, some lids won't budge no matter how much pressure you apply.
There are a lot of devices to choose from that can address this issue.
Some are battery operated and simply require you to attach it to the top of the bottle or jar whilst takes care of the rest.
Others are manual openers that attach to the lid or cap, enabling you to have more leverage or a larger surface area to grab hold of.
It is quite surprising how effective the simplest of bottle openers can be.
Grab Rails Securely fitted grab rails around the home can make a huge difference in giving us more independence.
Many tasks involve us having to sit down or stand up, and this is particularly true when it comes to bathing and showering.
By fitting and positioning grab rails in areas of your home where you need a little extra strength while manoeuvring about will not only give you more comfort, it will also give you added stability and safety.
Reachers Some things around the home may seem out of reach.
If you have difficulty crouching down or reaching up high it can end up giving you considerable discomfort when performing a task outside of your comfort zone.
A handy reacher with a simple grabbing mechanism will certainly aid you as they act as an extension to your arm, enabling you to pick things up from the floor and close top windows with relative ease.
Some reachers will also collapse down into a more portable size so that you can take them out and about.
In the Garden Pottering around in the garden can be quite a relaxing past time especially in the warmer months.
You are now able to purchase garden tools and equipment that will give you more stability and comfort whilst weeding and pruning.
These tools are based on a similar concept to the kitchen utensils mention earlier in which there is a right angled handle attached to give you maximum grip in a natural position.
Gardening involves a lot of kneeling down and there isn't always a wall to attach a grab rail to.
Garden kneelers are simple devices that are lightweight, have a padded base (for kneeling), and protruding handles that you can grab hold of to give you extra support when getting up and down.
There are many other daily living aids that can help in giving back independence; these are just a few of the simplest and effective ones available today.
If you are ever unsure on which products would be right for you, I would always advise consulting an expert or you doctor.
If you suffer with restricted mobility, general tasks around the home can become quite daunting.
There is of course a huge array of specialised equipment out there that can assist in making life easier, but some items can carry a hefty price tag and can be too cumbersome or unnecessarily complicated.
Here is a quick glance at some of useful and simple to use daily living aids that are available on the market right now.
Kitchen Aids The kitchen is always one of the busiest rooms of any home and with it comes its own set of challenges.
Preparing a meal can be quite tricky if you're unable to grip things properly but there are some simple kitchen devices that can help along the way.
Food preparation boards come in all shapes and sizes with a wide variety of functions.
A good board will always come with non-slip feet to ensure it remains in place during use.
These boards can come with spikes for holding fruit and vegetables in place allowing you to work with just one hand.
They can also come with built in graters and slicers and a whole manner of gripping devices for holding bigger food stuffs such as bread in place.
Once you have your food stuffs securely in place on your board, you can then also use a slightly different type of utensil to prepare it.
Utensils such as a graters, slicers and knives can come with a right angled handle.
If you use one of these it gives you maximum grip in a natural position with no need to twist your wrist around too much.
Another area in the kitchen that can prove a challenge to anyone is opening bottles and jars, some lids won't budge no matter how much pressure you apply.
There are a lot of devices to choose from that can address this issue.
Some are battery operated and simply require you to attach it to the top of the bottle or jar whilst takes care of the rest.
Others are manual openers that attach to the lid or cap, enabling you to have more leverage or a larger surface area to grab hold of.
It is quite surprising how effective the simplest of bottle openers can be.
Grab Rails Securely fitted grab rails around the home can make a huge difference in giving us more independence.
Many tasks involve us having to sit down or stand up, and this is particularly true when it comes to bathing and showering.
By fitting and positioning grab rails in areas of your home where you need a little extra strength while manoeuvring about will not only give you more comfort, it will also give you added stability and safety.
Reachers Some things around the home may seem out of reach.
If you have difficulty crouching down or reaching up high it can end up giving you considerable discomfort when performing a task outside of your comfort zone.
A handy reacher with a simple grabbing mechanism will certainly aid you as they act as an extension to your arm, enabling you to pick things up from the floor and close top windows with relative ease.
Some reachers will also collapse down into a more portable size so that you can take them out and about.
In the Garden Pottering around in the garden can be quite a relaxing past time especially in the warmer months.
You are now able to purchase garden tools and equipment that will give you more stability and comfort whilst weeding and pruning.
These tools are based on a similar concept to the kitchen utensils mention earlier in which there is a right angled handle attached to give you maximum grip in a natural position.
Gardening involves a lot of kneeling down and there isn't always a wall to attach a grab rail to.
Garden kneelers are simple devices that are lightweight, have a padded base (for kneeling), and protruding handles that you can grab hold of to give you extra support when getting up and down.
There are many other daily living aids that can help in giving back independence; these are just a few of the simplest and effective ones available today.
If you are ever unsure on which products would be right for you, I would always advise consulting an expert or you doctor.
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