If you have a fractured hand, debilitating pain in one of your wrists, or a similar condition, you may have to adjust to handling day-to-day tasks with one hand.
Several tools are available for purchase that can help individuals open jars, zip up jackets, put on seatbelts, and complete other tasks. In addition to purchasing such resources, there are many other ways to make living with one hand easier on yourself.
Cooking & Household Chores
If you have temporarily lost the ability to use one arm or one hand due to an injury, see if you can find someone to help you for the first several days with housework, cooking, taking care of children, and other important chores.
You may experience some pain over the first several days after an injury, so having someone there to help you is ideal.
Additionally, consider buying meals that are easy to prepare and cook, such as frozen dinners.
Toiletries & Medications
Reinvent your morning routine.
- Buy a shower sponge on a stick to make it easier to reach.
- Buy toiletries with pumps or flip tops rather than screw tops.
- Instead of traditional dental floss, choose dental floss with handles, which you can manipulate with one hand.
- Consider investing in an electric razor.
As long as they are out of the reach of children, leave toiletries open if possible, such as the lid off the toothpaste and the cap off the shampoo bottle. Ask your pharmacist to give you bottle caps that are not childproof so that they are easier to open with one hand.
Shoes & Clothing
Some items of clothing are much easier to slip on than others, so you may have to rely on them if you can’t use one of your hands.
- Avoid wearing pants, jackets, and shirts that have zippers or buttons.
- Wear sports bras rather than traditional bras so that you don’t have to clip them on.
- Buy slip-on shoes.
For additional tips or more information, contact one of our hand doctor’s offices, located in West Bloomfield, Howell, Warren, and Macomb Township.
