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What are good tools I can gift my mother who has RA?

My mum has just been diagnosed after nearly a year and it has damaged cartridges in her wrists. I’m just wondering if there are any secrets or anything I can buy to help with pain etc. She has the support socks and gloves. Would it be a good idea to get the electric knee pads that massage, etc

  1. Hi Trish. Sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis (forgive my use of the American vernacular). One of our contributors wrote this article on gift ideas for those with RA: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/gift-ideas-for-those/.

    Concerning more specifics, many of our community members mention compression gloves and socks. This article gave feedback from the community on their experience: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/using-compression-socks-pain-swelling-feedback-community/.

    Another area that might be of interest is tools and gadgets to make life easier. Our contributors have written several articles on such items. This link is for the search results on this topic in our archive: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/?s=gadgets. The top listings will be on topic.

    I hope this information is helpful and know that both of you are always welcome here. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)

        1. I have gadgets galore, and cannot live without them, my fingers/hands have become almost completely useless.
          The kitchen and bathroom have become what nitemares are made of.
          I have to say that my Most Used and Favorite Gadget is an Old Style Nutcracker. The new stainless steel type are a waste of money, they do not work, but the old style stainless steel type are a godsend. I truly don’t know how I’d survive without it. I had 2 but, somewhere along the way, one disappeared. These were nutcrackers that were my folks and they’re OLD ones that came with the stainless nut Pics too. I haven’t been able to find them so I guard the one I have left with my life.
          So if u have problems opening water bottles, which I use mine for every single day,
          nail polish bottles, or any bottle that fits between the 2 handles (not sure what u call it), wish I could show u a picture! I still have a problem with any bottle with a cap that’s too small for them to grip but there’s not many smaller bottle or caps.
          For larger bottles and jars I have another great gadget, which has 3 different size grips and the stretch a bit too.
          Then there’s another gadget that is shaped like a question mark, which is for cans and bottles that have the ring u have to lift and pull back. The curved part lifts the ring and the other end pulls it back and also is used to break the vacuum sealing on jars. The last 2 I mentioned, I purchased from QVC shopping channel if anyone is interested.
          I have lots more but my comment is already long enough.
          Hope it helps!

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