Aids for cooking

c4thyg

Hi guys,

After having a frustrating weekend and a flare...again, I've had to admit that I need to get some aids for the kitchen. I felt useless. It was a good thing my hubby was home because I have no idea how I'm supposed to cook meals for me and my daughter when my hands are bad. I find knives very hard to use and struggle to safely move hot pans. I have no choice but to keep trying as I have to feed my little girl. I don't bother if it's just me in the house but I have to feed her. I have to find a safe way to cut and peel veg as when I cut myself it can literally bleed for hours. (I have to take tablets to get my blood to clot.) I use a peeler but I'm in a lot of pain afterwards.

How do you manage to cook and do simple things around the house with bad hands? This is fairly new to me as my hands weren't badly affected until about 2 months ago.

Thx, Cathy

jaspercat

Hi, wear support splints, if you have some, when you are moving things around, use a smaller sieve to drain things and do it bit by bit, use a peeler instead of a knife, if you don't already, or try heating things in a microwave, can't think of any more at the moment love Jaspercatxx

page35

Hi Cathy
i also suffer with bad hands, do you have an OT? there is so much stuff you can get to help you and some stuff you can get free from the OT. i got tap turners as i found turning on the tap very hard some days. and i got knife folk and spoon with chunky handles. i do find these help.
there are lots of websites you can by stuff from, i will try to find them and pm them to you
page

harleyd14

hi cathy
there are a couple of things out there even in "normal peoples shops"!! a few handy bits are

the one touch can opener.
the one touch jar opener.
potato peeler that fits over middle finger - hard one to explain.
grip mats for underneath chopping boards.

if you can , ask occy therapy and they might be able to give you a few bits for around the home too.
dont know if any of this has helped, the first two on the list above are great little gadgets.
take care, and dont get too downhearted, just means dinner will have to wait until hubby can do it for you !!! Sally.xx

sharmaine

Hi Cathy

You can buy some aids from some of the charity shops: levers to remove ring pulls etc. You can also buy special aids to help with cutting etc from disability shops (best to buy online). Better Life is a good place to look - there are others if you want to compare prices.
Safety peelers etc - have a look.

My hands/arms are weak and opening jars especially have been a pain. I find the jar openers a godsend.

I contacted my OT direct and he's supplied me with a few aids around the home raised toilet seats; bed lever; perching stool a godsend in the kitchen; handrails etc.

Hope this helps.

Sharmaine

c4thyg wrote:

Hi guys,

After having a frustrating weekend and a flare...again, I've had to admit that I need to get some aids for the kitchen. I felt useless. It was a good thing my hubby was home because I have no idea how I'm supposed to cook meals for me and my daughter when my hands are bad. I find knives very hard to use and struggle to safely move hot pans. I have no choice but to keep trying as I have to feed my little girl. I don't bother if it's just me in the house but I have to feed her. I have to find a safe way to cut and peel veg as when I cut myself it can literally bleed for hours. (I have to take tablets to get my blood to clot.) I use a peeler but I'm in a lot of pain afterwards.

How do you manage to cook and do simple things around the house with bad hands? This is fairly new to me as my hands weren't badly affected until about 2 months ago.

Thx, Cathy

lindalegs

I have every kitchen gadget going - all the better if you can plug it in - from a Magimix for chopping and grating to an electric can opener. Goodgriips do a range in chunky-handled peelers and other tools. Lakeland is a good source, I find, but disability shops have helpful things too.

See if you can be referred to an OT through your GP or Rheumy - they'll assess you and provide equipment free of charge.

Luv Legs

Wonkylegs

HI

I would urge you to seek a referral to the Occupational Therapy (OT) service. I was referred through my GP but could have referred myself. Try ringing your local social services. For mine they came to my house, and gave me lots of help. Even for things I didn't know I was struggling with

For cooking the very best tips they gave me cost about 99p :shock: and are a godsend.

Buy a chip basket to fit inside your pans, and then put the veg you need to cook into the basket. You can easily fill the pan up in place on the cooker using a small jug, and when the veg is cooked you don't have a heavy pan of hot water to drain - you just lift the basket out! You can leave the water to cool down and use the jug to empty it later, or get hubby to do that when he is around.

I use my small plastic jug constantly, rather than carrying things to the tap. The water goes to the kettle. A kettle tipper can help, or Tefal do something called a 'quick cup' which produces warm (but not boiling water) that is good for drinks. The small travel kettles are good too - much lighter. or you can get a kettle tipper to fix your kettle to - but do get the OT to look at that, as there are different types for different kettles, and it does mean that your kettle is stuck inone place all the time.

Frozen veg could be an alternative if you don't want to prepare veg.
Personally, I just scrub most veg now and cook them in their skins. I chop them in my food processor. Failing that, I buy the ready cut veg from the supermarket. Cheaper than buying lots of gadgets, and just as good.

hope that helps

c4thyg

Thanks for all your advice. I knew this was the place to ask.

I don't work (officially)so I don't have an occupational health to refer to. However, it sounds from some of your posts that the service is also available through the GP. Did I get this right?

The chip basket is a great idea! Why didn't I think of that. I already cook sweetcorn in a metal sieve above the peas so I don't have to pick them out afterwards or use 2 pans. I use grips for opening jars and they work quite well. I bought them originally because I could never get the tops off the baby bottles!! A one handed can opener would be great. I guess I'll be looking at Lakeland online after dinner tonight!

I am buying more and more frozen veg and meals these days but I have to admit that I'm not happy about it. It costs more and I never wanted my daughter to have so much frozen food. It used to be now and again when I couldn't make fresh for her but now it seems to be nearly every day. I can't believe that I have bruising all over my knuckles today because I struggled yesterday. I've got to be so careful because my blood doesn't clot. The smallest of bumps can bring out an enormous bruise and if I slip with a knife it can be messy!! :oops:

Thanks again for the advice, I'm off to do round 2 for a roast dinner. I'm determined because I love them in cold weather!

page35

hi cathy
its occupational therapist that you need and yes gp or rheumy can refer you. mine was so nice and very helpful.
i sent you a pm earlier with some sites for you to look at hope they help. my OT and i see lindalegs recommended Good Grips so have a look at them, they do lots
page

gickygawky

forgive me if I repeat something someone else has already replied with but these are the things I do now in the kitchen because I can't lift things and can't peel/cut well.

I leave the vegetable skins on everything these days - I wash everything and then throw it in the saucepan as is. It's meant to be healthier anyway so I think of it as doing myself a favour

Potatoes go in the oven in their 'jackets'. If I want them mashed I cook them in the oven until they are soft and then scoop out the soft inside

I transfer whatever is in a saucepan bit by bit to where I want it to be using ladles and jugs. Gets a bit messy but works for me.

I drag anything heavy like the kettle across the benches from one side of the kitchen to the other. My kitchen tap can be turned sideways so it pours water onto the drainer so i put the saucepans and kettle on there, fill and drag, easy

I can't undo the lids on milk so when hubby is away with work I buy UHT milk from the shelves. I pierce the foil top with a knife and hey presto!

Hope this helps a little!

A x

mistywillow

Hi
Its hard in the kitchen with bad hands isnt it . I think the others have suggested most things. I do use quite a few of the 'good grip' products and have found them useful. I must admit that I have not found any of the 'pull tag bottle or carton aids very helpful, but maybe that is just me. The chip basket sounds a brilliant idea, will be using that one.
The occupational department of either your local hospital or social services will probably be able to give you things to try out first so you don't have to spend out on something that is not useful for you.
Gillx

Wonkylegs

forgot to say earlier that AC have a good leaflet on making daily tasks easier & protecting your joints.

It may be available on here under publications & resourcesbut if you ring the helpline they will be able to help you.

c4thyg

Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions and thank you to those of you who PMed me. I spent hours last night looking through online catalogues! I found that there is a lakeland near where I live so after we move house next week I think I'll be taking a trip down there so I can take a good look at the different brands they stock.

I was also pleased to see one of the websites (can't remember which!) was a bit more funky and youthful looking. All the others have photos of elderly people in them and no younger people. It really doesn't make me feel any better about having to look for these things, I'm only 32! I wish the idea of disabled wasn't a little white haired lady with a walking stick, that's no disabled, it's elderly. I feel sorry for teenagers who have to buy these items.

Wonkylegs

the supermarkets ar ebeginning to sell lots of things that are easier to use - ergonimically designed stuff - and that makes things easeir I think. Also worth looking out for stuff in pound shops. I have found some things that are perfect to do my task but were designed for other things.

lindalegs

Hi again Cathy,

One of the reasons I like Lakelands is that it's easy to get a full refund if you don't get on with one of their products.

When I bought an electric bread/meat slicer from them they unpacked the box for me so I could see if I was able to press the button and turn the other knob and were still willing to give me a refund if I found I couldn't manage to use it when I got home. (I make my own bread - just adding that before you wonder why I don't buy sliced loaves.)

I usually like to try before I buy with any new gadget, big or small - John Lewis are also very good for this too.

Luv Legs

c4thyg

Thx Legs, that's really useful to know. I think I'll get hubby to drive me to Lakelands after the move. I'm always worried about spending a lot of money on something that *might* help.

c4thyg

I found a little gadget in the supermarket that is fantastic. It helps me to open bottles, ring pulls etc and it even works with those pesky milk cartons that are the bane of my life. I love my new toy!!

lindalegs

delboy wrote:

I couldn't get on with ring can pullers but have found that an old screwdriver works even better, lever up the ring pull with it, push screwdriver through hole and then either use the driver as a lever or griping it around the handle and blade to pull.

Necessity is the mother of invention as the old saying goes - I've found my own way to cope with different things too - it makes you feel really good to solve a problem and even better when you can share it with others too.

Thanks for sharing Delboy

Luv Legs

sharmaine

Hi Cathy

Have a look on the website you can buy aids to help out in the kitchen. I would suggest you contacting your OT directly. Ring up Social Services and they'll direct you. The best thing I have in the kitchen ...have OA in both knees... is the perching stool. It means I can do all my preparation for food without having to stand in one place - I can wash up. It's just made such a difference.

My hands have OA but not as bad as you by the sounds of things. I have an automatic can opener which is a godsend; jar openers etc. At the moment I find lifting things difficult and tend to put things that go into the oven on a baking tray with handles. I'm steadily building up my collection of little aids to help in and around the home. Some of the charity shops sell ring pulls and other aids.

Sharmaine

dorcas

Hi Cathy,
I too have problems with my hands and share your frustration with the limits in cooking etc. that comes with it! Like the others who have posted I have lots of gadgets about the kitchen, tend to scrub the veg and cook with the skins on (not even able to do that sometimes) and buy in frozen ready cut onions, carrots and other veg...I agree that it's not the same as using fresh though.

Would urge you to use the other alternative...good old fashioned family! get hubby to peel and cut up the veg for you?
My sister does this for me once a week and we put the prepared veg in airtight containers and put in fridge for use during the week; it's a godsend. Also including others makes your loved ones feel that they are supporting you...kids can help too! My grandson opens all the jars for me so as to break the seal and then closes them again so that I can then manage them when the contents are needed. It's now the first thing he asks...

hope you get some relief from the pain in your hands...ever tried a hot wax hand bath? it's wonderfully soothing. It's not expensive to buy either; can even get them in Argos! Iris x

woodbon

Hi, I have't got it yet but my husband has ordered a jar opener and a ring pull can opener. My hands are quite painful and not as strong as they were.

Try and keep things simple, potatoes in their jackets with beans or cheese, buy grated if you'r having touble or use a food processor. I have a small one for little jobs and that saves getting the big, heavy one out. When you are well enough, cook a large meal and divide into to and freeze one.

I'm lucky, we are having a new kitchen and I have decided to have a tower oven and microwave, as I can cope better if I don't have to bend, thats something to think of if you are going to be changing things though, its expensive! A job thats needed doing since we moved in, so we had budgetted for it when we moved!
Love Sue