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On Caregiving
CellarDweller:
I agree.
I sometimes see these "inventions" and don't think they can really help very much, however, it can swing in the other direction as well.
If a elderly person is living alone, and he/she is taught to use Facebook, they can at least have contact with the outside world.
Mom & Dad are starting to complain of arthitus in their hands, and using a can opener can be a challenge at times. They got themselves one of those "Toucan" can openers, works like a breeze!
Jeff Wrangler:
Apropos of gadgets, my dad recently decided that he wanted to get himself a new bathroom scale, a digital one.
He made two tries. On both, when he got the scale home and took it out of the box, it had a sticker on the scale to the effect that the device was not recommended/shouldn't be used by someone with a pacemaker. :P
No indication on the box, but a sticker on the actual scale.
He was able to return both scales, but, still, you'd think they'd have the sense to put a warning like that ON THE BOX!
CellarDweller:
*shakes head*
Front-Ranger:
That's a good example of the headaches that technology can cause. My siblings really feel that there's an easy solution for any complaint my mom has. But it's not that simple. For instance, they sent her a souped-up cane but Mom doesn't know how to use it so she just walks around with the cane in her hand, not touching the floor. This leaves her hand not free to grab hold of railings, etc. or to break any possible fall. Thanks to my mountain climbing experience using trekking poles, I was able to teach her how to use the cane. You put the cane in the hand on the strongest side; for most people that would be the right side. When walking you plant your cane and then put out your weak foot, following with the foot on the stronger side. Always keep three points of contact with the ground. I teach and reteach this but the next time I arrive at Mom's home, she is carrying around her cane again, not using it. When carrying or dangling your cane, you can easily trip over it or catch it on something and fall over.
Worse, Mom gets confused when she gets to her destination. She spends a lot of time trying to figure out where to put her cane, dropping it, and trying to disentangle herself from the wrist strap. She tries to open a door while holding on to her cane, drops the cane and can't open the door. Lately, Mom has been using a walker instead but that requires even more training to use properly.
Don't even get me started on the subject of "adult diapers". Now there's something I have absolutely no experience with. Relatives just don't understand the daily challenges.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on January 06, 2016, 10:55:46 am ---Apropos of gadgets, my dad recently decided that he wanted to get himself a new bathroom scale, a digital one.
He made two tries. On both, when he got the scale home and took it out of the box, it had a sticker on the scale to the effect that the device was not recommended/shouldn't be used by someone with a pacemaker. :P
No indication on the box, but a sticker on the actual scale.
He was able to return both scales, but, still, you'd think they'd have the sense to put a warning like that ON THE BOX!
--- End quote ---
That is weird. I've worked on editing web pages of information about pacemakers, and what gadgets you should or shouldn't use when you have one, and I haven't seen anything as seemingly innocuous as a digital scale. Most of the things seemed more intensely electric. Now I want to go back and look at the list.
Plus, these days there's hardly anything *but* digital scales, isn't there?
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