After a stroke, even simple tasks can be daunting, especially getting dressed. Don’t lose faith — the goal is to return to your normal dressing routines as soon as you can.
Generally, use your unaffected arm to dress the affected side first. To undress, take the garment off the unaffected side, then remove it from the affected side. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Choose loose-fitting clothes and silky fabrics. They’re easier to slip on and off than polyester or flannel.
- Lay out your clothes before dressing.
- Dress while sitting. It’s easiest.
Shirts and jackets
- Choose coats and jackets lined with slippery fabrics like satin, silk or nylon. These are easier to put on than unlined garments.
- Opt for knits. They don’t wrinkle.
- Practice buttoning and unbuttoning with the shirt on your lap.
- Put your affected arm in the sleeve first.
- Start buttoning a shirt from the bottom.
- Button the sleeve for your strong arm before you put the shirt on. To unbutton that sleeve, grab the corner of the buttonhole with your teeth and maneuver it until the button slips out.
Socks and shoes
- Sit down to put on socks and shoes. Put your foot on a footstool (or box).
- Write an "R" inside the right shoe and an "L" in the left shoe.
- Buy slip-on shoes.
- Insert Velcro closures in place of shoelaces.
Nylon stockings
- While sitting, cross your affected leg over your strong leg. With your strong hand, gather up the stocking and pull it over your toes and foot. Then uncross your legs and pull the stocking up to the knee.
- Stand to pull both stockings all the way up. Belts and suspenders
- Thread the belt through the loops before putting on pants or a skirt.
- Attach suspenders to trousers before putting them on.
Jewelry and wristwatches
- Wear bracelets that can be slipped onto your arm.
- Clip-on earrings are easier than post earrings. If you have pierced ears, try the wire-style earrings that just slip in. (Many pierced-ear earrings can be converted to wire earrings. See your jeweler.)
- Put a watch on the wrist of your affected arm using your strong hand. For ease, wear a watch with a stretch band in a slightly larger size than you normally wear.
Adapting clothing
The following features make clothes easier to put on and take off:
- Rings or strings added to zipper pulls
- Velcro in place of buttons and shoelaces (Remember to close the Velcro tabs before washing the clothing. This prevents lint from collecting on the tabs.)
- Elastic waistbands
- Snaps and grippers
- Button hooks
- Clip-on ties
- Pullover or front-closure bras
FAQs
Generally, use your unaffected arm to dress the affected side first. To undress, take the garment off the unaffected side, then remove it from the affected side. Here are a few tips to get you started: Choose loose-fitting clothes and silky fabrics.
What is the best thing for stroke victims? ›
The best thing you can do for a stroke survivor is help them get early access to therapy. During the first 3 months after a stroke, the brain is in a “heightened state of plasticity.” Therapy pursued during this time will have a greater effect as the brain is rapidly trying to heal itself.
Who helps a patient learn how to get dressed after a stroke? ›
Occupational therapists help stroke patients with activities of daily living, including: Bathing. Going to the toilet. Dressing.
How do you dress someone with left sided weakness? ›
When helping a patient dress it is important to remove the clothing from the strong side of their body first. You then will dress the weak side of their body and then dress the strong side.
What are the priority nursing interventions caring for the stroke patient? ›
During the acute phase of stroke care, the nurse will monitor airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs). Early assessment for neurologic compromise should be ongoing for acute stroke patients are at considerable risk for hemorrhagic transformation (HT), cerebral edema (brain swelling), and secondary strokes.
What helps stroke patients recover faster? ›
Follow a Healthy Diet
Legumes, blueberries, and various flavonoid-rich foods can also strengthen brain health and speed up the stroke recovery process. Following a healthy diet can prevent obesity, which is a condition that can decrease the production of new neurons, so your loved one should avoid high-calorie foods.
What are 3 therapies most people need after having a stroke? ›
Rehab can include working with speech, physical, and occupational therapists. Speech therapy helps people who have problems producing or understanding speech.
Can you regain use of leg after stroke? ›
However, these difficulties with walking do not have to last forever. The ability to walk can be recovered after a stroke because the brain and spinal cord can change when a person does physical exercise as rehabilitation. Rehabilitation means to recover function after an injury.
How do you teach someone to walk again after a stroke? ›
Traditionally, after a stroke, patients do physical therapy that recruits the legs, including gait exercises and balance training. But a new study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology found that regularly exercising your arms can also help recover walking ability.
What is the golden time to save a stroke patient? ›
The first hour is considered to be the most crucial or in other terms “golden” because stroke patients have a high chance of survival and prevention of long-term brain damage if they receive medical treatment and drug therapy within the first 60 minutes of the onset of symptoms.
Find out what their favorite hobby or interest was before their stroke, and set goals that fit with them. If they used to play piano, maybe being able to play a chord with their affected hand can give them some extra motivation. If they loved to paint, holding a paintbrush again could be a small goal.
What are the 8 days of stroke care? ›
The 8 D's of Stroke Care
| Detection | Rapid recognition of stroke symptoms |
|---|
| Dispatch | Early activation and dispatch of EMS |
| Delivery | Rapid EMS identification, management, and transport |
| Door | Adhere to all door to delivery times, such as door to needle in < 60 minutes, etc. |
| Data | Rapid triage, evaluation, and management in ED |
3 more rowsInstruct the patient to dress the strong side of the body first. For example, if the patient is stronger on the right side, have him or her place their right arm in the right sleeve first. Again, allow the patient to complete as much of the task as possible without assistance.
How can a caregiver help a stroke patient? ›
Caregivers often need to:
- provide personal care such as bathing and dressing.
- coordinate health care needs including medications and doctor and rehab appointments.
- manage finances and insurance coverage.
- help the survivor maintain and increase their ability to function.
Keep the head well supported and in good alignment. Place a pillow under the weak arm to support it, followed by another pillow under the weak leg. If the patient is lying on the weak side: Keep the weak arm placed away from the body before turning the patient over.
How to manage a patient with a stroke? ›
Acute Management of Stroke
- Sections Acute Management of Stroke.
- Initial Treatment.
- Thrombolytic Therapy.
- Stabilization of Airway and Breathing.
- Intravenous Access and Cardiac Monitoring.
- Blood Glucose Control.
- Patient Positioning.
- Blood Pressure Control.
