Patient/caregiver was educated on measures to reduce the effort and workload for individuals with gouty arthritis as follows:
Certain arrangements and minor modifications can help improve safety, reduce the effort and workload for individuals with gouty arthritis. Use of ergonomically designed tools can help improve independence and reduce the risk for exacerbation of arthritic pain.
- Caregivers of gouty arthritis patients can help rearrange shelves in the bedroom, closets, kitchen, and refrigerator with items that are used regularly put in the upper shelves, which provides an easy reach. Gouty arthritis patients with bad involvement of the weightbearing joints must avoid using the lower shelves, as it needs them to bend to access the lower shelves. Also, they should avoid placing items so high that needs them to stretch heavily to reach out. Severe stretching and bending too low can compromise balance in arthritis patients, leading to falls. Using a long-handled reacher can help pick or reach out to items located too low or too high.
- Individuals with gouty arthritis involving the hands and fingers can have difficulty with performing fine movements of the hands employed during activities, such as, buttoning of shirt, tying the shoelace etc., Using shirts with zipper and slip-on shoes can help save effort in buttoning the shirt and tying the shoelace. You can use a long-handled shoehorn to help an easy slip into the shoes.
- Using sock aid can help put the sock on and prevent bending down to put it on. Pull the sock onto the sock aid until the toe end, with the heel on the bottom and have the foot in. Using the strings attached to the sock aid, pull the sock aid out, which leaves the sock on your foot.
