Bathing, dressing, and grooming ourselves are common activities that we often take for granted. They're just a part of our normal daily routine so we don't put a lot of thought into it. For people with arthritis these activities, though common, can be complex and frustrating. The symptoms of inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and pain that are associated with this condition make these simple activities not so simple.
We are going to share some hygiene and grooming aids with you that will make grooming and hygiene performance less overwhelming for the arthritis patient and will also allow him/her to do it independently.
Bathing Aids
Bathing can be a real chore for people with arthritis, especially when it comes to those hard-to-reach places. Bending and reaching to wash the back and lower extremities can be painful and at minimal uncomfortable.
A bath kit which consists of a long handle with an attached scrub brush and separate round and toe sponges, can make bath time a lot more comfortable and a lot less painful. The twenty-two-inch-long handle makes bending and reaching unnecessary. The two round sponges can be used to wash your back, legs, and the top of your feet, while the toes sponges are useful for getting the dirt from in between your toes. They didn't forget about the bottom of your feet — the attached scrub brush makes cleaning the bottom of your feet an easy task as well.
Taking Care of Your Hair and Nails
Your hair doesn't have to suffer because you have arthritis. Washing, drying, and styling your hair can be made simpler by using these aids:
- Washing - a long handle hair washer
- Drying - a hands free hair dryer stand
- Styling - a long handle brush and comb set
The light weight ergonomic design of the long handle hair washer, makes it perfect for people with arthritis. It is designed for those with limited grip and range of motion. It has nodules on it that massage your hair to your desired cleanliness and the long handle enables you to ensure your entire scalp gets clean.
A home mini manicure can be accomplished without discomfort with the right tools. Specially designed nail clippers enable you to keep your finger and toe nails at your desired length. A table top nail clipper is helpful for inflamed, swollen, arthritic fingers that may not be able to handle using a traditional clipper. The table top clipper has a non-slip plastic base that holds steady while you are using it and the mounted nail clipper has a large molded finger pad, making it easy to use.
Pain Free Grooming
The additional grooming activities of shaving and moisturizing can be rendered pain free with a razor extension handle and a lotion applicator. The extension handle for razors will allow you to shave your legs without the additional pain of reaching. Whether you prefer standard razors or electric ones is not important as the handle can accommodate both. Keeping your skin moisturized is important and a lotion applicator can assist with that. It can be used to put lotion, cream, or oil on hard-to-reach areas.
While these products can't cure the condition, we hope that they can help make your grooming and hygiene routine simpler and pain free.
© Copyright 2017 The Wright Stuff, Inc. Articles may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission from The Wright Stuff, Inc. must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this article.
