Remember when you were between the ages of 3 and 5 and getting dressed by yourself was a big, but welcomed challenge? While once putting on your shirt was an adventure for the day, for those suffering from symptoms of arthritis, other infirm or even just the natural decline in mobility as we age, the difficulties of dressing are rarely a welcomed daily challenge. 

Limited mobility affects people of all ages for a variety of reasons, but is most common in seniors.  For accomplishing difficult tasks, most elderly people depend on the help of a caregiver, both in the home and in assisted living facilities.  Unfortunately, this dependence doesn't always help to strengthen the self-esteem.  Encouraging independence, especially with the help of dressing aids for seniors, caregivers and help seniors maintain as much dignity as possible through a difficult transition.

Dressing aids for seniors help those with limited mobility to get dressed independently.  Manipulating buttons and zippers are difficult when your fingers are not as nimble as they once were.  Just remember back to those times you would try as a child and just couldn't get things to work and imagine the frustration that now you know how to do it, but you can't get your body to cooperate. 

There are a lot of dressing aids that can make these tedious tasks simple to perform.  The pocket dresser is a casual favorite for handling buttons, zippers and other clasps.  Similar to a pocket multi-tool, the pocket dresser allows seniors to have help with finger nimble tasks.  Common to the pocket dresser is the classic button hook that makes fastening buttons an easy task. 

Dressing aids are not just for small tasks though.  Limited mobility and especially arthritis can make removing and putting on clothing items difficult too.  Shirts, sweaters, pants; they all take movement and manipulation.  Pay attention next time you get dressed to just how many muscles and joints are involved in the process.  The use of a dressing stick or the DressEZ can help to take the reach and stretch out of getting into a favorite outfit.  These hooked handles act as an extension of one's normal reach to make pulling that sweater over the shoulder easy and accomplishable.  There are even senior dressing aids like the Pull Em UP that make pulling up pants with limited mobility a personally manageable daily task. 

The other activities that scream loudest for dressing aids are those that require bending.  Now, most us chuckled at the shoe horn as kids and couldn't imagine needing that funny shaped object to get on our shoes, but for a person with limited mobility a shoe horn, especially a long handled shoe horn, can make getting on slippers and shoes a quick task instead of a major event.   Imagine elastic shoelaces that look tied, but you can just slip in and out with no effort.  Socks are no easier than shoes and for making the sock challenge easier there is an easy pull sock aid. 

From using long handled comb and brushes to dressing aids, getting dressed and handling daily hygiene tasks can be made easier and manageable with the right tools.  Senior dressing aids make the challenges of independent living that much more effortless.