Does anyone else find it difficult to open jars & bottle lids and packets like crisps, etc?
I'm finding it really difficult, I live on my own so have no one to ask to help me. I do resort to using scissors if I can't get packets open, though not sure what to do about the jars.
Any tips would be appreciated. Would just like to be able to open something without it being a major operation & zapping me of energy. Have a few tempting jars of pickle in my fridge that I just can't open🙄😂
Sending gentle hugs x🤗
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Dreamgreen
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hi, yep I’m with you, have a look on careco and Amazon, you can get gadgets for cans either electric, battery or manual jar opener, crisps, stick to your scissors, mind you. they hurt sometimes too.
There's also an old trick to opening jars, tap the side of the lid a few times, good hard taps, and the lid will loosen and be easier to open. But of course if you can't grip the lid hard enough then it won't work for you. x I have a manual jar opener that I bought from Lakeland.
Hello Welshcatlady, thank you for replying.I'll give that a go, you've reminded me that my Mum used to blown between the jar & the lid if she couldn't get a jar open. Not sure how that worked, but she always got the jar open.
my mum used to thwack the side of the lid, if she couldn’t open it, using a rolling pin and I do the same - works every time! I use this method if I can’t physically grip my bottle opener.
Yes I struggle to open cans, jars, bottles. If you look on line there are lots of aids. An electric can opener helps, a ring pull for cans, there are also other aids for bottles. I haven, t found anything yet for packets.
Doctors keep telling me my grip has improved since my TIA, yet my thumb and index finger don’t agree.
Although I did suggest that it could be the return of carpal tunnel . A nice newly qualified doctor agreed to send me for an orthopaedic consultation.
if your over 65 I think that’s when it starts for a lot of people. Those rubber jar openers really help me. Also running jars under very hot water. I have been yelled at for tapping the cover of a jar with a knife so I’m not going to add that. I think packages are best opened using scissors.
Hey Shaughnna, thank you for your reply, I'm 52!😂Some handy tips to be sure, will try the hot water though not sure about the knife- I'm clumsy enough as it is.
I have been getting severe right shoulder pain. I think it is from an old injury diagnosis “frozen shoulder”. I couldn’t sleep so just for giggles I rubbed my shoulder with some topical gel from CVS for pain. The pain immediately went away, and yes the pain does return, but a little rub with this cream makes it go away until the next flare.
Well I’m telling you this because last week my husband told me he had to cancel his golf game (boo-hoo)😭😂 which was in 2 days. I should have told him to go on the find a phychiatrist site and deal. He said 🤬
Seriously, he told me it was so bad that he couldn’t grasp the club, it was too painful.I told him to try the cream I had and the pain went away almost instantly, he repeated the cream and he was fine and he said it only hurt 5% of what it was before. And he said he had the best drives he had all summer. Before he couldn’t even grip the club. He described the pain as being in his knuckles, both hands. He put the cream on the palm side of his knuckles.
Hey Shaughnna, I'd never heard of topical gel from CVS so googled it, it said it had volteral in it & remembered I had a tube at the back of my meds draw.I've just put some on my knee & ankle that were really painful & instant relief!
So thankyou for your message & glad it helps your frozen shoulder & your husband's golf.
It’s unbelievable huh? I’ve used several different types of ointments with lidocaine as well as patches, and they all work!
I think if the pain is from an injury that the crème (product) helps so it gives the injury time to heal on its own. But if the pain is due to arthritis or something permanent, you would have to use it constantly to get pain relief.
I may be wrong about this and if so please feel free (anyone) to correct me.
Sounds so familiar. For me, the trouble with jar openers is that you have to be able to grip the jar and then squeeze the handles tight. That hurts. My husband recently bought me a paint tin opener from screwfix. I'm sure it was £3. It allows me to just gently ease the side of the jar lid to break the seal. So easy and no struggle squeezing. Best of luck.
Hey Gkb642023, thanks for replying.That seems like a cheap solution. I guess with fybro we think outside of the box in terms of what helps us in day to day life.
Put some boiled water in a small bowl just enough to cover the top of a jar when stood upside down, leave for a minute and then using a tea towel it should open more easily. I don't find all gadgets useful. I did buy a morphy Richards electric can opener that will open any shaped can and it also had a pull out gadget for opening bottle caps, ring pulls as well as a jar opener one but I still struggle with that. Small hands.
The problem with jars is the vacuum. I often find that if you get a table knife and look under the lid, you can sometimes break the seal by inserting the knife under one of the gripping lugs and ease it until the seal pops. For me that often works. Otherwise, I take the offending jar to the Man Cave where my son lurks, and ask him to open it!
Hi Dreamgreen, I have one like these and they work a treat. They are screwed into the underside of a cupboard, so the opener itself is always in situ and you don’t need to hold it as well as the jar.
I have problems with door handles; for some reason, they are at the right height to catch in my belt loops or cardigan pockets. No fun when you are carrying food!
I'm in an upstairs flat at the moment which means its a bit of an effort doing the stairs. Though good news, I've just been given a bungalow with the council so won't have to do a flight of stairs soon😊
Congratulations that's wonderful news for you xxxHoping it will be a good move but obviously the packing up will be a huge struggle???
I hope you'll be supported with this?
Thank you for response, I've sort of collapsed after a tiny walk+a few minutes trimming bushes! It's so debilitating!
Supper may be v v late tonight??? I'm suffering with costochondritis currently; that internal muscle agony that is persisting this week so I'm v glad of the sofa this pm!
Look after yourself and hope your jar opening issue can be sorted, somehow?
My partner really struggles, his hands are badly affected by arthritis so we have just about every gadget there is! I bought a £10 electric counter top tin opener from Asda, wasn't expecting much but it's been brilliant. Another little 6 in 1 to keep in cutlery drawer is essential and this one is really good for under £5
Multi Opener - 6 in 1 - Jar Opener, Bottle caps & tops, Pull tabs, Safety sea...
I think packets are actually harder to open. It's not just us growing weaker! As far as jars are concerned, I swap hands on the lid and that sometimes works. Otherwise, the best thing I have found is a piece of rubbery cloth that I wrap around the lid before twisting. I can't think what it is called but it has come to have multiple uses by now - it's like a sort of rubbery lace. If you google it, there are other forms of help available, but I have a drawer full of things that don't work for me.
Hi... opening jars is the bane of my life with arthritis in my hands.. I live on my own and find some more difficult than others. I usually try immersing the jar upside down in fairly hot water, that sometimes works.
Or wearing rubber gloves for a better grip... failing that, in desperation, I usually try my one of next door neighbours if they are in...
Don't think it always you that's the problem... I've noticed some packets or some things like tubs of beetroot marked with an 'open here tab'....sometimes they open, sometimes they don't! Take care xx
I have trouble opening jars and have a gadget that fits round jar lids, trouble is you still need to grip onto the handles tightly to open the jars which I can't do so it's useless to me. Your scissors will come in handy for jars also, I bang the points into the lid to puncture it slightly this releases the air sealed in the jar so ots easier to open. Take care you dont stab yourself with the scissors.
Hello lynn_lunn, thank you for your reply.Hum- I'm pretty clumsy so shall have to give puncturing the lid a miss, more likely to stab myself than the jar lid🙄😂
My Hubby and I take it turns to hurt our hands,then the other one gets it,
It's because the other one made it loose,
The plastic 8 thing was meant to help! 😮💨Hmmm
I am not suggesting for any of this tip to be used as it is quite dangerous,
Continue with care! By the time I've got to this stage I'm getting wound up a gooden,
I get a sturdy sharp steak knife 🔪 and give the lid a whack to make a hole, All the air is expelled and walaa, Once it's done I put a plaster over the hole (can't remember why) 🩹
If you get hurt I say that was your choice and I had no part on using this method🩸🩸🩸🩸
I would think putting a plaster over the hole would keep the contents of those pesky jars fresher for longer, which is a good thing as saves having to try & open another jar!😂
yes I have the same , I have to ask my neighbours sometimes . Jars are crazy hard to do now even a can of drink I have to get a fork to the ring . Try bashing the sides of the jar lids denting them a little . That helps sometimes . Other than that there is a gadget you can get look it up on Amazon think it says arthritis , good luck xxxx
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