I can’t undo…

Re the squeeze caps, I always had to get someone else to do it. However, I have now realised I was putting too much pressure on the sides. I cannot usually do them. No help with the dog harness though.

I always have to do Mums for her. I am now finding it more difficult now though. I am 70.

This is a dratted nuisance for me. One of those minor irritations in life which drive us mad .
I have to wait for one of my sons to visit before I can use things.
I've got all sorts of devices which are supposed to help... and often they don't!

It is sometimes easier if you use one of those rubber circles - the ones you use to give a better grip on jar lids etc. I think them useless for undoing jars, but quite useful on those squeezy things.

I usually ask a male passer-by to open those awful screw caps for me .

I have asked delivery men to open my bleach for me. Or any visitor really.

I often have to ask my husband to undo various types of tops and fasteners for me. I’ve had both hands operated on, two trapeziectomys (should that be trapeziectomies? Sorry, I digress) Now I have neuropathy in my right hand, which is extremely painful all the time. I have little strength left in my hands now. I also wish older people would be considered when tops and lids are designed.

Rubber gloves are just as good as the 'rubber circles' sold for this purpose. I once got so irritated with a bleach bottle cap that I went back to Waitrose and asked the lady at the customer service desk to remove it. I subsequently discovered that a nutcracker I rarely use for its intended purpose works very well with bottle caps.

I have an old nutcracker that is useless for cracking nuts but great for getting small tops off bottles.

I use old fashioned nutcrackers on bleach bottles. Works every time.

And wine bottles! 😂🍷🥳

Snap! farmgran 😂

I have sometimes asked the person on the till or another customer to open a bottle of bleach or wine. The loo cleaning can wait,but wanting a glass of wine, already chilled in the fridge but you can’t open, it is so frustrating.

DD2 uses a dog harness. I’m terrified that I’ll nip the dog fastening it and getting it off is almost impossible for the same reason. Luckily, when he’s here with me, I use a slip collar/lead on him, so no problem.

Ive just spent a frustrating 5 minutes trying to extricate Activia yoghurts from their cardboard wrapper which had no apparent join. Just who designs all these inaccessible items? It’ll bite them in the bum when they get older and arthritic! 🤯

I get totally frustrated with my grandsons car seat, which also has the squeeze fasteners! He gets similarly frustrated with me when he can't understand why Grandma can't let him out of his seat quickly enough! Obviously we get there eventually but it's so difficult.

I think that the rubber circles I aquired years ago have a bit more 'cushioning' than the average rubber glove and seem especially good for harness fastenings. But I see how rubber gloves would make much more sense for bottle caps, and will try it.

Absolutely Cabbie21 😂. I also swear a lot when trying to squeeze the top off the bleach!

I find some plastic packaging really difficult to open and often take a knife to them. I once threw a package of sandwiches across the staffroom in work because I couldnt open the thing.

However I have no problem with old fashioned tin openers - the kind where you drive in a little pointed blade and lever it open. My nephew cannot manage them and has to use the type where you wind a little key. Fortunately I dont drink alone so he is always here when I want a bottle of wine opened.

I have spent the past few days doing just this!
I have a company that arranges product tests, we are currently testing different caps for a well known household product.
We will have tested 6 caps on a thousand people when we finish in December.

It works like this; We have on street recruiters in the City centre who find us the respondents, they must meet certain criteria, they then come into a conference room we hire and we ask them to remove the different caps, each removal is assessed and graded.
If the respondents have any disabilities it is noted along with age and gender.
The test takes approximately 5 minutes and each respondent is given £5.

We then input the data for the client.

Every product on every supermarket shelf that is produced by large manufacturers will have gone through rigorous testing.

Sago your company plan is great….but how about going to sheltered housing schemes, coffee mornings for the housebound? If people are out and about that is already a level of ability.

midgey

Sago your company plan is great….but how about going to sheltered housing schemes, coffee mornings for the housebound? If people are out and about that is already a level of ability.

It is not our company plan, we work to the clients brief.

To visit such places would not be feasible.

We have to have a cross section of consumers many people out and about yesterday had mobility aids, we had stroke victims, many arthritis and lymphoma sufferers and a lots with poor strength.

They all have to be consumers of the product.

My dog's coat has the squeeze and clip fasteners, and I can't get them undone - OH has to do it every time. Twice I have caught the skin on my finger when fastening them. Bleach bottles are a pain too - I can't get those undone. Consequently, I have instructed OH not to die first.

And those tops on medicine bottles like Night Nurse etc. where you have to push down hard and twizzle at the same time! All I get is clicks and even more pain in my badly arthritis hands! A few days ago I had to get my hubby to undo it, he's a strong lad but even he had difficulty!

I understand the manufacturers have to make things safe and ''child-proof'' but ...!

I can’t open many things but strangely have no problem with wine bottles 🙃