Losing Hand Dexterity – Rethinking the Button
Posted in Adaptive clothing when losing hand dexterity, Senior Health Care Tips
Are You Experiencing Difficulty Dressing?
Losing dexterity in the hands can make fine motions like working buttons incredibly challenging or painful for some seniors. Adaptive clothing manufacturers work around this challenge in a number of ways:
Many adaptive shirts replace traditional buttons with magnet-backed buttons. While looking like a traditional shirt, these magnet pads hold the garment closed securely.
Some manufacturers also product Velcro-style faux buttons.
Back-opening dresses
Pulling on a dress can be difficult while seated in a wheelchair or without the ability to raise one’s arms. Rather than creating a fall hazard by standing to dress or causing painful strain, back-opening adaptive dresses minimize movement while dressing and stay secure with closures on the back of the garment. 
Making zippers finger-friendly
Grasping the small metal tab of a zipper can be extremely difficult for those with arthritis or limited hand dexterity. As a result, many adaptive clothing lines offer enlarged, hooped or textured zipper pull tabs that do not sit flush against the body making dressing and undressing easier. 
Pants that skip leg day
Pulling on a pair of traditional pants requires bending, leg-lifting and balancing simultaneously, exposing those with unsteady gaits or limited leg strength to a serious fall hazard on a daily basis. To counter this hazard, adaptive clothing makers often hidee zippers or snaps along the outside of each pant leg, allowing wearers to slip them on even from a seated position. These zippers also allow users to accommodate leg braces or other support devices by leaving the pant leg partially unzipped. 
Fashionable and functional adaptive clothing used to be incredibly difficult to find, requiring lengthy shopping tricks to specialty stores and costing more than traditional clothing. Fortunately, the adaptive clothing industry has grown considerably in recent years and online shopping makes tracking down the perfect adaptive clothing solution a (magnetic) snap!
SelectCare hopes you have found this article useful. Experiencing difficulty dressing or performing other day-to-day tasks can be one of the most common early signs that an older loved one can benefit from home health care services.
To learn more about how SelectCare Home Health Care Services has been helping New Yorkers live happier, healthier lives for more than 30 years, call SelectCare today or request a free in-home care guide.