Who's become gripless as they've gotten older?

Yes, I've noticed in the last year that I struggle to open lids. I'm stubbort though... and will try all the various methods of opening the lids, etc.
 

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Jules said:
Those peel-back lids - I stab them. Quite often they have the teeny tiniest little flap to grab - are they saving money on packaging.
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yes I can't grab hold of those teeny tiny corners at all.. used to be able to but I can't now, so I have to resort to use a knife to slash open the packet, which means I can't reseal it, so I have to re-bag it in something else. Very irritating..
 
Ronni said:
I'm having more and more trouble with those containers with peel-back lids as one example. Opening jars is becoming more of a challenge too. Other stuff, can't think right now.

I don't have pain in my hands, very little arthritis, it doesn't hurt or anything. Is it a strength thing?
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Peripheral Neuopathy might be a possiblity. There are several causes. If you feel it is a severe problem, talk to Doc. Because there are a lot of possibilities including loss of strength. Most of them can be mitigated once identified.

Due to arthritis in hands (right thumb, my dominant hand, is subluxated) opening jars can be difficult, but in general i can hold onto things. My gross motor functions (swinging mallet to strike wedges and split firewood) are more reliable than fine motor ones (handwriting, using stylus to type on devices). But in my late 40's (during long arduous peri-menopause) my allergies and intolerances were so many and so bad that i had PN.

i could not depend on my ability to grip anything. My brain percieved a grip even as cups, bowls, books slid out of my hands. And sometimes i felt like my legs were going to buckle if i took another step. If i just stood still for a bit that sensation would pass, but once or twice they actually did. I was scared i had MS. A test eventually ruled that out, relieving a stressor.

Once i moved to a drier, cleaner climate and learned to moderate/balance my intake of foods and exposure to inhalents that my body reacted badly to, the PN cleared up tho when stressed it can flare briefly. Kind of strange, but I'm generally healthier, fitter than i was 25-30 years ago.
 

I'm afraid it just goes with the territory my friends. I work with my hands constantly, and my strength is still pretty good, but I've started using workarounds were I can, like Holly mentioned. My left index finger gets very painful when doing highly repetitive work like sheetrock finishing, so I've taken to splinting it and duct taping it to it's neighbor. Makes a huge difference. Need to work smarter as we get older.
 
Peeling oranges has become a challenge too. More often than not I just cut them into little crescents and eat them that way.
 
Ronni said:
Peeling oranges has become a challenge too. More often than not I just cut them into little crescents and eat them that way.
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I use one of these to peel oranges.

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Sadly, I honestly believe it's a natural progression. The days of the wife handing me things to open for her have reversed. Thank heaven for our various opening tools and utilities, as I'm afraid we might starve without them o_O. Don...
 
Macfan said:
Sadly, I honestly believe it's a natural progression. The days of the wife handing me things to open for her have reversed. Thank heaven for our various opening tools and utilities, as I'm afraid we might starve without them o_O. Don...
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Funny you mentioned that…I was going to say I’m lucky I can still hand the really hard-to-open jars to Ron, and I try not to get annoyed when he opens them in a flash after I’ve struggled for what seems like forever!!

He’s a gentleman though, and always tells me it was all MY hard work that made it easy for him. 😂💕
 
Ronni said:
I'm realizing that the problem seems to reside more in my fingers than my whole hand. Peeling the top off the specialty dog food doesn't require hand strength, just finger strength. I also tried to use my fingers to grip the cardboard box flap that was glued, so I could pull it open and flatten the box for recycling. It took me a few tries to actually get it to move!

I also have a rubber gripper thing to help me open jars. Two of them actually...I use one to grip the lid, and the other to grip the jar itself, because both slide around under my hand.
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Ronni, since it's not arthritis, it's very possible the problem is a nerve.

I had a cyst removed from my hand that was pressing against the nerve that goes to my thumb. It weakened my grip, made it hard to open jars, hard to write and paint, hard to play catch with my kids bc I couldn't keep a grip on the ball.

It was an outpatient surgery, done by a hand specialist at his clinic, and they used a local anesthetic so I was awake the whole time. Took about 20 minutes. It completely solved the problem.
 
I have to use an electric can opener now. Jars are hard for me. I like to use wallflower plug in air fresheners. The other day I could not get the refill opened. I took it to work so a man at work could loosen it for me lol.
 
Today I took two bottles with childproof caps back to the store. The clerk had to cut & pry the lower seal with scissors. It was even hard for her. She said many people have returned for help.
 
Ronni said:
Funny you mentioned that…I was going to say I’m lucky I can still hand the really hard-to-open jars to Ron, and I try not to get annoyed when he opens them in a flash after I’ve struggled for what seems like forever!!

He’s a gentleman though, and always tells me it was all MY hard work that made it easy for him. 😂💕
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Happy wife, happy life.
 
Jan14 said:
I have to use an electric can opener now. Jars are hard for me. I like to use wallflower plug in air fresheners. The other day I could not get the refill opened. I took it to work so a man at work could loosen it for me lol.
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More than a handful of times I've bought a bottle of water from a shop on a sunny hot day when I'm out and about, and then been unable to undo the twist top, and had to stop a total stranger ( man) in the street and ask if he could open it for me..

Only once did I ask a man who unbeknown to me had arthritis in his hands but he still did it, but I was careful after that to ask younger guys who are less likely to have anything wrong with their grip..

Now I've got used to trying to opening the bottle in the shop before I pay for it, if it doesn't open, I choose another one until I find one that is easier to undo, or I ask the cashier to do it..
 
Ronni said:
Who's become gripless as they've gotten older?
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It's kind of appalling, even through I exercise, work out with weights etc my gripe is disappointingly inadequate sometimes, trying to open certain packaging. Some packaging is so impenetrable that you just about destroy the contents trying to get it open.:rolleyes:
 
Geezer Garage said:
I'm afraid it just goes with the territory my friends. I work with my hands constantly, and my strength is still pretty good, but I've started using workarounds were I can, like Holly mentioned. My left index finger gets very painful when doing highly repetitive work like sheetrock finishing, so I've taken to splinting it and duct taping it to it's neighbor. Makes a huge difference. Need to work smarter as we get older.
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I wear wrist braces when I'm splitting firewood, helps reduce the effect of the impact, so i ache less afterwards. We do what works, what allows continued functioning.
 
Pepper said:
I've developed trigger finger in my left hand. It started with middle finger but now it's mostly in the pinky. All left fingers are affected. I use splints at night for sleep, as it was painful during the night.
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I have trigger finger in my right thumb & went to a hand specialist/orthopedic doc for thumb joint injections every six months for close to 5 years. Major pain without the shots but no pain at all for close to 6 months between injections. But then lo and behold, something called Penetrex kept popping up on Amazon with rave reviews. I finally ordered a 2 ounce container of Penetrex & VOILA…with daily application, it totally eliminates the pain in that thumb so shots are no longer needed. Reviews indicate that it works better for some folks than others but guess that’s true for pretty much anything.
 

Who's become gripless as they've gotten older? Yes, it is much harder to come to grips with old age.​

 
Those pull back fasteners, especially if they are small are becoming harder and harder to open as I get older. I think it is the fine motor in the tips of my fingers or something. Definitely the strength of opening jars is also a problem for me.
 

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