Elder Care Tustin CA
If your elderly loved one has arthritic hands, you’ve probably watched her deal with the pain and wondered if there’s anything at all that you can do. When the diagnosis is still new, it’s frustrating for your loved one to not have the same use of her hands that she used to have. Try some of the tips below to try making the situation easier.
Warm Hands Up
Before doing hand exercises or even activities that might be strenuous, take a few minutes to help your loved one warm up her hands. An easy way to do this is with reusable hand warmers or even heated gloves. A dip in warm water can work, too. This is particularly helpful if your loved one has poor circulation as well as problems with arthritis.
Ice Can Help, Too
If your loved one is experiencing pain in the joints of her hand or if she’s overexerted her hands on a bad day, ice can help a good bit. An ice pack is one way to do this, but you can also rub an ice cube lightly over the affected joint. Always be careful applying ice directly to skin since too much exposure to ice can damage sensitive skin. Try to limit ice exposure to only a few minutes at a time.
Take Advantage of Good Times
As your loved one deals with arthritis flare ups more often, she’ll start to notice when she tends to feel better and when she tends to feel worse. Often if someone is dealing with rheumatoid arthritis, mornings start out with stiff joint that loosen up gradually throughout the day. For someone with osteoarthritis, mornings may be much better with pain flaring up later in the day after using the joints. Help your loved one to track her pain and try to schedule more intense activities during the time of the day when she’s likely to experience less pain.
Find and Use Tools that Help
When it comes to arthritis in your loved one’s hands, it can be incredibly frustrating. Suddenly your loved one isn’t able to do all of the things that she’s used to doing. There are a wide range of tools out there that can make life so much easier. Jar openers, key turners, and even pen adapters are just a few. Experiment with different tools to find the ones that work best for your loved one and don’t be afraid to ask your loved one’s elder care providers what tools they would recommend.
Get Help from a Pro
Any time that you’re dealing with some new physical symptom or condition, it takes time to get used to the challenges that come with that situation. Look into physical or occupational therapy for your loved one. These therapists are experts at helping people just like your loved one learn to accommodate their new physical limitations.
With time and a little bit of experience, you can help your elderly loved one to work around the problem of arthritic hands.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Tustin, CA or the surrounding Orange County areas, please call us at 949-535-2211. We provide senior care services in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo and surrounding areas of Orange County California. Contact us today to learn more.
