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Tips and Gadgets
Mobility
As an alternative to walking sticks or walking frames, why not try the walking poles designed for walkers and hikers. By putting your weight on the webbing straps, you can gain a great deal of support.
DIY
DIY can present difficulty; firstly always use the right tools of a decent quality. To compensate for weakness in the hands a small extension to the tool helps. Also screwdrivers with a torque setting can give that added strength element rather than you having to struggle. Obtainable from Maplins.
Sack trucks are handy for moving heavy objects, however, if you don't have a sack truck and have laminate floor in your house put the object on a large towel and you'll be surprised how easy it is to pull on the hands and knees!
Rather than having standard light switches, switches in dark places like garages and patios can be operated by light sensors to avoid stumbling about looking for the light switch.
If its difficult to put screws in holes, try a set of screwdrivers with grips on the end to hold the screw whilst you align and turn it also from Maplins
Use a wheeled garden tool box in the house as well as outside. It's useful to perch on when looking in low cupboards, or maybe when dusting the skirting boards!
In the Kitchen
When cooking, use a steamer or a pasta saucepan to cook vegetables - no heavy pans of water to carry to the sink to drain, just lift out the perforated insert.
Use a square of 'Dycem' in each hand to make opening screw-top bottles and jars easier. Use a small piece to get a better grip on peel-off covers on the top of milk cartons or fruit juice containers. A Dycem cone is equally effective for jars and bottles.
A metal jam-jar opener from any hardware shop is also useful for opening bottles and jars
A ring-pull can opener is useful as it slots under the rings, and gives easy leverage to pull them up and backwards available in hardware stores or from Lakeland Ltd www.lakeland.co.uk
A good, stable, heavy based can opener for other tins without ring pulls is also essential
Around the home
If you have trouble getting up out of your armchair but don't want to buy a "healthcare" chair, try placing a firm foam pad between the chair base and the seat cushion. If you cover the foam with a contrasting stretch cover, it will blend in with the rest of the suite.
Dressing
Use a button hook to help with doing up small fiddly buttons. Available from many sources, including our webshop - http://www.cmt.org.uk/webshop.php?selectcat=Gadgets
General Help
To help with picking up small metal objects I use a magnet on a telescopic tube which we keep in the kitchen. As well as helping to pick things up it also saves you having to bend down.
To help pace yourself, use a step counter - not to do your 10,000 steps - but to work out what your daily tolerance level is. You can check how much you're doing and ease off, before you become exhausted.
Walking is brilliant exercise - for most people! To enjoy the health benefits of walking, without constantly looking out for trip hazards, try using a treadmill at the gym. You can choose the speed, there are handrails to hang on to - and there's a STOP button for when it all gets too much.
If you have any more top tips to share for this page, please email Karen at info@cmtuk.org.uk. Thanks!
Date updated - 21/11/2011
