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Some tips to make looking after yourself a little easier for those with chronic pain, limited mobility or weakness. These tips aren’t just for girls!
Medications If you live alone or with no young children, you can ask your pharmacist not to put “child-proof” lids on your medication bottles. Child-proof lids can be quite a challenge for someone with hypermobile joints or hand pain or weakness! If you do have little children in your home at any time, place the medicine in a high cabinet, preferably with a lock or simple 'door opening alarm'. You can disable the alarm when the kids have gone out, with a single switch. Brushing your teeth An electric toothbrush can help to reduce hand and shoulder pain. You can also put elastic bands around everything you need to grip, e.g. the phone, door handles, your hairbrush, hairdryer, toothbrush, cutlery. For some people squeezing things is very painful. A way of getting round this problem is to simply buy the toothpaste varieties that come in pump dispensers. These are often slightly more expensive but if it gives you relief then you may find that it is worth the extra money. Showering and Bathing If you don’t have a built in shower chair, you could buy a plastic chair from a garden centre and put it in the shower to make showering a bit less exhausting. Some plastic chairs come with rubber grips on the feet, which is a safer option because the risk of slipping is reduced. You can also buy special mats for in the shower to make the floor less slippery. Some patients prefer a stool rather than a chair, so that their back is not leaning against anything and is easier to wash. What works for you will depend on whether you need a support to lean back onto when showering or not. Some people have an extra rail put in to avoid slipping, either in the shower or next to the bath to make it easier to get in and out. If you find baths easier but getting in and out of the bath is tough, it might be worth looking into getting a bath with a door in the side, so that you can just walk into it instead of trying to climb in. These types of bath are carefully designed for people with leg pain or limited mobility. You may also benefit from having a shelf put in next to the shower so that you don’t need to do so much bending and stretching. An adjustable shower head that you can take off the stand and hold is often helpful, especially for bigger tasks such as washing your hair or shaving your legs. If your muscles seize up whenever you are the slightest bit cold, try putting on your central heating for a short while before you have a shower or bath and while you are in there. Be sure to wrap up warm in a dressing gown or a dry towel before stepping out of the bathroom. Then when you come out of the bathroom you will not instantly start shivering and seize up. New ! Drying yourself off after showering or bathing can be a real challenge. Find a long towel that wraps easily around your body. Sew the short ends together and you will have a circular towel that does not slip away as easily, provides an easier grip and a good back scrub! Hair Care When buying shower gels and other personal hygiene products, resist the urge to buy whatever is on offer. Check that you can hold the bottle comfortably in one hand, and that the type of lid it has is not going to cause you problems. Some people find that a flip top lid is better because the lid will not fall off, so there is no need to bend over to pick it up! If squeezing bottles of shampoo, shower gel etc is painful or difficult for you, pick a shampoo that flows easily and will pour out of the bottle when you turn it upside down with minimal squeezing required. Better yet, you could transfer your shampoo into pump dispensers. You can buy these in most chemists and they are reusable. As with toothpaste, some people find it less painful to use soap that comes in a pump dispenser. If you find that pump dispensers are still painful for you, try solid blocks of shampoo and conditioner from natural shops such as the Body Shop or Lush. These are sometimes more suitable for people who suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity too, because they are usually made from natural products. Some people even prefer to make their own soaps etc. Click here for recipes for making your own soaps, face masks and other beauty products A long-handled brush or comb can help those with shoulder pain or frequent shoulder dislocations to style their hair with less pain. As mentioned above, you can wind elastic bands around the handle of your hairdryer and hair brush to make them easier to grip. A better option for some is to buy a hairdryer stand. A hairdryer stand allows you to position the hairdryer to aim wherever you want, so all you have to do is stand (or sit) in front of it. Click here for more information if you suffer from hair loss Colouring your hair Most women and many men wish to dye their hair at some stage during their life. Research has shown that many patients of chronic illness go grey earlier than healthy people. Nowadays there are some natural products for hair colouring available, which can especially benefit those who suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The chemicals in many hair colourants can overload the liver, which is may already be working over time if you suffer from frequent infections or take medications. So, why not go the natural route? You may need to search a little for a good product, because not all natural hair dye is long-lasting. When colouring your hair, brush your hair carefully beforehand to pick up loose hairs easily. Get a big hair clip or scrunchy and tie up the top half of your hair, leaving the hair underneath loose. From hair salons or from most chemists you can buy large brush applicators to apply the dye. Use the brush applicator to apply three 'dabs' on each section of hair; at the root, in the middle and near the tips, then use a normal, cheap plastic hairbrush to ensure that the dye is evenly spread by brushing it through. This is easier on the hands than painstakingly trying to squeeze the dye out of the tube in an even manner. You only need one arm to brush your hair and you can switch arms as often as you like to give one arm a break. Next, release another layer of hair from the clip or scrunchy and apply the dye in the same way to this layer. Continue doing this until you have covered all of your hair. After each application, brush the hair thoroughly to ensure that the dye is spread evenly through your hair. If you have any hair colourant left at the end, use your hands to divide the remaining product over the top layer of your hair and the ends of the hair. If this is not your first application and your roots are a different colour to the rest of your hair, you will need to cover your roots with hair colourant first and then move on to the rest of the hair dyeing process. The result; hopefully a beautiful, even colour, that looks alive and as good as if you just left the salon (without spending anywhere near so much money!)... Enjoy ! Looking After Your Legs and Feet If bending and reaching is a challenge for you, then looking after your feet will not be one of your favourite tasks. Some disability shops sell devices specifically for this, such as a stick with a spatula-like end that can be used to apply and rub in moisturiser or creams to your feet. This removes the need to bend forward and is helpful for anyone who has a lot of foot pain and needs to rub in pain relieving gels or creams. Some nail brushes designed for use in the bath have suction pads attached. This is helpful for those with hand pain because you can just attach it to the side of the bath and move your foot against it. Of course this particular tip may not help you if your leg pain prevents you from moving your leg like that. You can now buy long-handled toenail scissors designed for people who cannot bend and stretch much. Some are also designed to be easier to hold. If this is still too painful or difficult for you, there is nothing wrong with asking for outside help. Many chiropodists nowadays spend at least half of their working week visiting people who for health reasons cannot look after their own feet very well. Pedicurists will also do this too if your feet are not in need of medical treatment. If you have corns, ingrown toenails or another problem with your feet, call the chiropodist, but if you just want to make sure your feet look presentable (for example, your toenails really need cutting but you can’t reach!) then a pedicurist should be able to help. If shaving your legs involves too much stretching, have a look in a disability shop. Many sell extensions for razors. You could of course make your own by attaching your razor to a long rigid tube of some sort. For those who have to wear support tights, a revolutionary device has been tested in the Netherlands to help you remove a pair of tights. Putting them on will remain an effort for you or your home care provider, but this way you will not have to wait for help before you can go to bed. Keep an eye out for when this device becomes commercially available. Do you have more coping tips to add to this list? Please let me know via the "Contact Us" option at the top of this page, so that I can add your suggestion! Best wishes, Prickles! & Carla :) |
