Slide show: Assistive devices for weak hands

If your hands are weak or painful, grasping a small item with your fingers can be frustrating. Avoid the pain by using assistive devices to make your everyday tasks easier. Assistive devices that help you grasp can help you maintain your independence.

The following assistive devices aid you if you have weak hands. Ask your doctor or occupational therapist about other assistive devices that might be right for you.

Jar openers, whether electric or manual, do most of the work for you by reducing the amount of twisting force to just a bit of a turn. Many can be installed under a kitchen cabinet for easy access.

A cutting board with suction cups on the bottom can help stabilize your cutting surface. This cutting board also includes vertical metal rods to hold fruits and vegetables in place — the apple in this image is sitting on top of the rods. That way, you won't need to struggle to use a weak hand to hold your food in place for cutting. This knife has a wide grip that may be easier to grasp, and the offset blade reduces the strain on your wrist.

Look for vegetable peelers, ladles, knives and other kitchen utensils with larger grips. Holding on to something that has a larger handle eases the strain on your hand and wrist.

Various scissors on the market have springs built into them. Springs eliminate the need to open the scissors and decrease the pressure needed to close them. Other household tools come in spring-loaded versions, too.

Lever handles make it easier to turn faucets on and off and control water temperature in the shower or tub. Consider lever handles for other areas of your home as well. For instance, cover or replace your doorknobs with a lever-style handle to make opening doors easier.

Instead of trying to twine floss around your fingers and hold it there, try a dental floss aid that secures the floss for you. You can find these at grocery and all-purpose stores.

Put foam tubing — which you can buy at most hardware stores — over the handle of any device to make it easier to grasp. This photo shows the dental floss aid equipped with foam tubing.

Instead of fumbling for that zipper, try using a zipper ring. It's bigger than the zipper tab on your clothing and gives you more leverage for pulling. An ordinary key ring will do the trick. Once you zip up your trousers, tuck the key ring under a belt. No one will know the difference.

The buttonhook might take care of all your buttoning problems. If you find yourself fumbling to grasp the button, just slip the hook through the buttonhole. Then catch the button and pull it through the hole.

Get these rubbery slip-ons for your pens and pencils at any store where school or office supplies are sold. By providing you with a wider and better grip, they ease the strain on your fingers. You can also buy pens that come equipped with a grip. Pens with felt tips, rolling balls or gel ink require less pressure to put ink on paper and tend to write more smoothly than other pens.

Use a book holder to prop up your book while keeping your hands free. The book holder saves your hands from the pain of grasping your book for long periods of time and reduces the strain on your neck created from looking downward.