Overview
Daily tasks using 1 hand
After your surgery or injury, you might need to do your everyday activities using only 1 hand. These activities may become more challenging and time-consuming.
You might need to find new ways of doing your daily activities, use assistive devices or get help from someone to do a task.
Your occupational therapist will explain this information before you leave hospital.
Planning ahead
- Think about what tasks you need to do and how you'll manage them.
- Plan a routine and prioritise the most important jobs.
- Think about the layout of your environment. Keep items you often use within reach, ideally between waist and eye level. Make the best use of space available on work surfaces, shelves, cupboards and drawers.
- Keep floor areas free from clutter and hazards, such as rugs and wire cables. It's easier to lose your balance if you only have use of 1 hand or arm.
Personal care
Bathing and showering
- Use a non-slip mat.
- You might feel safer sitting on a bath board over the bath to lower the risk of slipping.
- Use pump-dispenser products if they are available.
- It's easier to squeeze water out of sponges than flannels.
- Long-handled sponges, back-brushes and loofahs might help you to reach your back and both armpits.
- Sit down to dry your unaffected hand or arm using a towel on your knees.
- A towelling dressing gown helps to dry hard-to-reach areas.
Dressing
- Dress the injured or affected arm first.
- Choose elasticated, loose clothing. You can buy button-extenders.
- Use elasticated cufflinks.
- Ask someone to adapt your clothing with Velcro®.
- Do up your bra at the front, then swivel it round (or use a sports bra without fastenings).
- To put on a tie, secure the narrow end in a drawer or between your knees. Then tie the knot with your unaffected hand. If easier, you can keep the tie knotted, and loosen it enough to slip it on or off by pulling over your head. Otherwise, you can use a clip-on tie.
- Choose slip-on or Velcro-fastening shoes.
- Use elasticated laces (available in most shoe or sports shops).
- Avoid zips, buttons, buckles and other fastenings if possible.
Hair
- Wash your hair over a bath or sink using a shower hose or a jug.
- Dry your hair as much as possible with a towel.
- The easiest way to dry your hair is by using a cordless hot air brush.
- Choose a low-maintenance style. Shorter hair can be easier to manage.
- Otherwise, visit the hairdresser regularly for washing and styling.
- 1-UP hair ties are designed to be used by anyone with 1 hand, or reduced hand function. It helps you tie your hair into a ponytail. They can be purchased online.
- If you usually wear a head wrap or turban, consider using a cap that you do not have to tie.
Shaving
- Try using an electric razor.
Teeth
- Use pump-dispenser toothpaste and an electric toothbrush.
- If you have false teeth, soak them before brushing them. Sit down. Put a towel on your lap and put the dentures between your knees. Slowly rotate the dentures until you have brushed them clean. Or, you can soak dentures in a denture cleaner overnight instead.
Nails
- Tape a nail file to a work surface and run your nails along it to file or shape them.
Toilet hygiene
- Use boxed tissues instead of toilet roll if possible.
- If you use a roll of toilet tissue, pinch the sheet you want to tear off with your thumb and ring finger. Use the middle and index fingers to pull the sheet from the roll.
Eating and drinking
- Deep bowls or bowls with a raised edge prevent food from being scooped out by accident.
- A non-slip mat keeps plates, bowls and cups still.
- A cheese knife is a fork and knife in one, but be careful of the blade.
- Soft foods, such as mashed potato and ready cut or sliced meats, are easier to manage.
Kitchen tasks
You might find it easier to do some kitchen tasks sitting at a table, but other tasks may be easier standing by a worktop.
There are lots of assistive devices available to help you prepare and cook meals. Your occupational therapist or local independent living centre can give you details of suppliers.
Cooking with 1 hand can be challenging. It can also be dangerous when working with heat and sharp knives. If you have a splint, cast or prosthetic (artificial body part), be careful that this does not burn or melt. Any metal components can also get very hot.
Another option is to use a microwave. This is quicker and generally needs less effort than a cooker.
Tips for preparing food
- Buy pre-prepared food items, such as chopped salad, vegetables and meat.
- Use a food processor or manual chopping device that chops larger amounts of ingredients.
- To open a jar, stand it on a non-slip mat. Use a second non-slip mat on the lid, while you press down with the palm of your hand and turn the lid open. You could also use a Belliclamp device.
- Put a rubber band around a screw-top jar to make it easier to grip and open.
- Put commonly used liquid ingredients, such as oil, sauces or mayonnaise, into pump-dispensers or flip-lid plastic bottles.
- Fill kettles and saucepans with a jug if you find it too heavy to lift them with 1 hand. Another option is to use a small travel kettle.
- When boiling items in a saucepan, put the food items into a wire basket first. Then put the basket into the saucepan for cooking. Once cooked, just lift the basket out of the pan with the food contents, and let the hot water drain into the saucepan. You can use a jug to empty the saucepan when the water has cooled.
- When straining, use a ladle or spoon to remove hot food from the saucepan rather than lifting the pan, if it's heavy.
- Try using tongs instead of a fork for lifting, turning, and transferring food.
- A kitchen trolley helps you to carry several items around the kitchen at once. You can then carry the items in the trolley to your eating area. You must have a level surface to use a trolley.
Assistive devices for preparing food
- A spike board holds food steady while you peel or chop it.
- Buttering boards (also called spreader boards) have raised edges around 1 corner. Stabilise a slice of bread or toast against the edge to prevent it from slipping around when you spread butter.
- Kettle tippers tilt the kettle forward for pouring, so you don't have to lift it.
- Electric can openers are operated by pushing a button and are designed to be used 1-handed. They usually need batteries.
- Non-slip mats on the worktop or table surface can stop plates and cups slipping while you stir the contents. If you do not have a non-slip mat, using a damp dish cloth can also work.
- A Belliclamp is a device that allows you to use your hip or stomach to hold jars steady while you use your hand to open the lid.
- Saucepan handle stabilisers stop saucepans or frying pans rotating while you stir the contents.
- To crack eggs you can use an egg cracker designed for 1-handed use.
Washing dishes
- Use a dish washer, if available.
- Soak dishes and cutlery in hot water, soon after use.
- Use a hand pump or sensor soap dispenser. This can be fitted to your kitchen sink so that it does not move when you are using it.
- Use a washing up brush with suction cups.
- If you use suction pads and secure these on the sink, you can fit the item you want to wash on the suction pad. Wash 1 item at a time.
- Dampen a sponge and pour washing up liquid over it to create suds. Wipe your cutlery over the sponge to wash.
- Place a tea towel on a flat surface and wrap the towel around the item to dry, or leave to dry on a dish rack or draining board.
Other household tasks
Drying clothes
When drying clothes on a washing line, lower the line, lift your clothing, and flip it over the line before securing with pegs.
Cleaning
To pick up any crumbs after sweeping, you might find it easier to use a long handed dustpan and broom.
Some dustpans will stay upright without being held, while you sweep into them with 1 hand.
You could also use a damp cloth instead, or use a hand-held vacuum cleaner.
Using a phone
Most smartphones have settings which allow you to use a phone easier with 1 hand, such as a 1-handed keyboard, or reachability features.
You can usually find out how to do this on the manufacturer's website or by searching in your phone’s settings.