When people start getting older, they may experience decreasing range of motion or mobility.
This could be because they’re recovering from surgery, have an illness like arthritis or Parkinson’s disease, or simply have mobility issues. Limited dexterity makes the everyday task of getting dressed especially hard for seniors.
This can be frustrating, demoralizing, and affect one’s sense of independence. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case since those with limited mobility can use dressing aids.
What Are Dressing Aids?
Dressing aids are accessories and equipment that can help seniors dress more easily.
Whether it’s a dressing stick, shoehorn, or buttoner, dressing aids for seniors cut down the time it takes to get dressed, make the process simpler, and help elderly individuals maintain their independence.
Types of Dressing Aids for Seniors
There are many different types of dressing aids for the elderly. All these different gadgets help seniors lift, pull, and otherwise manipulate clothing items.
We’ve narrowed down some of the most helpful dressing aids for seniors below.
Dressing Sticks
Dressing sticks are some of the most popular and commonly used dressing aids. These are wooden sticks with hooks on one end. Seniors can use the hook to manipulate many clothing items, including shirts and pants.
Whether it’s lifting shirts off the floor or over one’s shoulder or pulling up trousers, these dressing aids can be a gamechanger for those with limited mobility.
Some dressing sticks come with hooks on either end. The hooks are often plastic-coated to ensure safety and can pull on, pull off, and lift different items.
Button Hooks
Seniors with arthritis or tremors from diseases like Parkinson’s can use button hooks to button their clothes.
These dressing aids can make something that is usually frustrating a relatively simple one by keeping small objects like buttons in place.
The hooks can be slid through button loops around the buttons and pulled back through to quickly button-up shirts and other clothing.
Sock Aids
Dressing aids for the elderly can help them quickly put on items like socks. These items are sometimes dangerous to put on because of loss of balance and because many seniors find it difficult to bend over and reach their feet.
Sock aids consist of plastic tube-like bodies and foam grips. Seniors can put the socks on the plastic body, put their feet into the plastic tube, and then pull up the foam grips.
Shoehorns
Bending over and pulling on shoes isn’t possible for many seniors. That’s where shoehorns come in.
These dressing aids for seniors are extra-long plastic sticks with shoehorns that keep shoes open as the senior puts them on.
These are just some of the many dressing aids for seniors that make their lives easier. Many seniors also improve their lives by moving into independent living assisted living facilities like American Grand.
By doing so, they can continue living independently while still thriving in a community and receiving help when required. Call American Grand at (920) 585-6985 or reach out to us here to schedule a tour of our state-of-the-art facilities.