Living with Erb’s Palsy – Our top ten tips and gadgets
Whilst social media is full of tips and tricks and life hacks of all kinds, not all of them are useful for those people who don’t have two fully functioning upper limbs. Knowing that many of the people I work with, manage perfectly well with life in their own unique way, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share some top tips and tricks which make living with Erb’s Palsy a little easier.
I was lucky to be able to discuss this with, and have demonstrations from, Kim Hawksby who has a right-sided Erb’s Palsy as a result of brachial plexus injury at birth.
It soon became apparent that many of the things she does now very normally are as a result of both clever adaptations and perseverance and actually just a lot of common sense. We therefore wanted to share some of those gadgets, tips and tricks which would be helpful to you and/or your loved one, most of which are readily available on the high street or online and no longer need to be found in speciality shops.
1. Pump action bottles
These are used for shampoo, shower gel and hand soap. It can quite often be a struggle to squeeze a bottle with one hand and put the contents on another. For shampoo in particular, holding the bottle in one hand and squeezing it into another or trying to get it on your head without tipping a whole bottle on your hair can be difficult. Pump bottles are completely useable one handed and they also help with quantity control. You can get these easily from most supermarkets so you can decant your favour products into them for a very reasonable price.
2. Keyrings to put on zips
Struggling to do up or undo a zip can be difficult one-handed, especially if the zip “handle” is small. Popping a plain key ring (or a funky one) onto wash bags, coats, rucksacks, make up bags and pencil cases can make life easier.
3. Towelling dressing gown or dry robe
This is an easy way to dry yourself without having to rub all over or over use the unaffected side with trying to reach round and dry different parts of the body. It is especially useful for children when they have swimming lessons and do not have someone to help them. Again, these can be bought in all major department stores and clothing outlets.
4. One button electric can opener
Whilst many cans these days have a ring-pull action, there are still cans which require a tin opener which is just not possible to use without two hands. The one button can opener is battery operated and a very useful gadget. Available from most supermarkets.
5. Scissors
Scissors but not as you know it. Rather than using a knife and fork to cut up food, use scissors. Whilst using the affected arm and hand as much as possible is recommended, sometimes, rather than struggle it is easier to cut food up with scissors and then use a knife and fork to eat. Whilst you may not be able to use the knife for cutting, you can still use the knife to push the food onto the fork. Keep a pair handy both at home and in a bag if you have to eat out.
6. Silicon oven mitts
Oven gloves are cumbersome even without having a disability which effects the function of your hands. Having oven mitts which are connected are also of little use and long silicon oven mitts can be a bit difficult to get on. The silicon oven mitts help with dealing with ovens and hot food especially if you are unable to feel sensation in your affected limb. Having a silicon oven mitt on just protects you from inadvertent burns.
7. Big-sieve spoon
Sometimes if you are cooking pasta or vegetables in a saucepan, rather than trying to drain boiling water out, you can use the spoon to scoop out your food and drain it before putting it on the plate. You can then deal with the water at a later point. This one is available at JosephJoseph.com but other brands are available.
8. Roll on sunscreen and Solar Buddies
There are many brands that now have their own roll-on version of sunscreen. This is brilliant for one-handed use. A new invention out, courtesy of Dragon’s Den, are Solar Buddies. This is a device whereby you can put your sunscreen cream into it, which has both a roller-ball application and a sponge. This allows you or someone else to apply the sunscreen without actually having to put hands to skin. Available on the high street or online.
9. A Kindle or e-reader
It can be a struggle to hold a book open without using both hands. There is a tendency to hold it open with your thumb in the middle which puts quite a lot of strain on the thumb itself. Having a Kindle or e-reader means it is light enough to hold with one hand you can simply swipe forward to the next page and also change the size of the text. It is great for being on the move. Available on the high street or online.
10. A chopped pot chopping board
This is a really good plastic chopping board that has ability to squeeze the sides together one handed, to almost create a shovel in order to tip the contents into the pan. Hugely useful for cooking. Available online.
I know we said Top Ten but we couldn’t resist putting in another one!
11. One cup kettle
Not only is this energy efficient, it means you don’t have to hold a heavy kettle.
We hope you find these gadgets, tips and tricks useful. If you have any tips or tricks yourself that you would be willing to share with the Erb’s Palsy Group and with us, then we would love to hear from you. We are also posting these and others on our Instagram page, EverythingErbs where we would love to chat to you more.
