As a busy caregiver, making time to visit a brick-and-mortar retail establishment for yourself or the older adult in your care can be inconvenient at best—and many times downright impossible. As online shopping continues to outpace in-person retail visits with 76% of U.S. adults preferring to shop online, you’re not alone in the switch to online shopping.
If you’re like the more than 153 million Americans who are Amazon Prime users, you likely recognize the convenience and cost efficiency the Amazon platform offers. For the monthly subscription price of $14.99, Prime members are afforded two-day shipping on millions of items, as well as participation in Amazon’s annual member-appreciation campaign, Prime Day.
Despite its name, Prime Day is a two-day event during which Prime members can take advantage of deep discounts and specials across millions of items on its site. This year, Prime Day will take place July 12-13, 2022.
Below we’ve aggregated a few of our favorite products to help you narrow your focus on products that help caregivers and older adults alike. Beyond our recommendations, get a sneak peak of all the specials heading your way as a Prime member by doing some research ahead of July 12 and start building your list, or cart, on Amazon.com.
Kitchen
Working in the kitchen usually means a lot of standing, which can be hard on the back, legs and joints. The Kangaroo Floor Mat is a thick foam pad, good for all-day use that helps provide relief from standing. The washable and durable mat comes in six sizes ranging from 17” x 24” to 70” x 24” and is offered in 23 colors/patterns.
TELION Cut-Resistant Gloves are made of polyethylene, spandex and fiberglass, and not only protect your hands from sharp knives, opened aluminum cans and other sharp items but also offer a better, stickier grip for older adults who may be losing hand strength. A few extra perks include touchscreen-enabled fingertips so you can answer your phone or view recipes on a tablet while chopping, and they can be washed by hand or thrown in the washing machine.
For seniors with weakening hand and arm strength, or those suffering from arthritis, jar openers are a simple and easy way to help an older adult feel more independent with simple kitchen tasks. What’s great about the Zilloden four pack of openers is it offers a variety of tools for any container type—and at a budget-friendly price. The pack includes a six-in-one can opener, a five-in-one bottle opener, a four-in-one jar opener and a non-slip gripper pad.
The Boil Over Spill Stopper Lid from Majesty Trends not only keeps your older adult safe in the case of boil overs from a forgotten pot, but it lessens messes and even acts as a trivet and microwave food cover because it’s 100% heat-resistant up to 460 degrees Fahrenheit. Made of BPA-free silicone, this cover is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. Plus, it’s dishwasher safe and easy to store anywhere in your kitchen.
Personal care appliances
If the senior in your care suffers from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome – or if you want a little extra TLC for your tired hands after a long day of caring for someone else – the CINCOM Hand Massager is quite the treat. Through air compression technology and gentle heat, the massager focuses on different acupuncture points and offers a kneading massage with four massage heads to help ease finger numbness and joint soreness. It also offers three modes, three strengths and two heat settings to fit any preference and a rechargeable lithium battery that can last up to five hours.
The next best thing to a hand massage is a portable massager for your upper body. Because many adults carry stress in their neck and shoulders, alleviating the tension that causes pain and tightness could be life-changing for you or the older adult you care for. The VIKTOR JURGEN Deep Tissue Kneading Neck Massage Pillow with Heat is remote-controlled and heated, and you can use it all over your body—shoulder, back, calves, feet, etc. With four deep-kneading shiatsu neck massage nodes for maximum effectiveness, this portable device helps ease pain and stiffness in your senior.
For bed-bound older adults or for those with mobility challenges, shampoo basins help ease the burden of cleaning your senior loved one’s hair. The BOLESHU Inflatable Shampoo Basin is flexible, portable and easily storable (simply deflate when done using), and it offers high walls to reduce messes from splashing, a soft-touch PVC material with unmovable pillow for comfort, and even a 40” drain hose for convenience when filling and draining.
Appliances
The e-Pill Station from e-Pill is a safe, secure and automated way to ensure your senior receives the medication they need, at the time they need it, with no room for confusion. Key features of this pill station include a key-locked lid, six alarms with sound and visual notifications, low-battery indicator, a 28-compartment tray and tipper base for easy dispensing, a stainless-steel medicine cup and two keys. The price point on the e-Pill station is an investment at $424 retail but is well worth the peace of mind it offers, especially to those caring for someone aging in place who still desires a level of independence in caring for their own health. This product will be one to watch on Prime Day, as it’s already on sale for $389 and could drop more on July 12.
With a growing selection of smart speakers or digital home assistants, it can be hard to choose the right one. We like the Echo Dot Smart Speaker with Alexa for older adults because it’s simple and easy to use, its smaller size allows it to fit into almost any space, and it includes built-in security, including a mic off button and in-app privacy controls. Set-up is simple and runs through a smartphone, so you can set up your senior with their preferred lighting, music and Alexa settings, and it’s off and running. Plus, the sleek design is fun in almost any space, and the sound quality is great for those who are hard of hearing.
Home
These small but powerful little devices from Tile called Tile Stickers are an innovative and non-invasive way to keep track of commonly lost items like remotes, cellphones, keys, wallets and even pets! Using a Bluetooth network, these small, one-inch round “sticker” devices can be placed on anything and will send a signal back to your Android or Apple phone, notifying you of its location. What’s great about these stickers is they can be used to locate any item near or far away. If a lost item is within Bluetooth range, it will ring; if it’s outside Bluetooth range, it can be found via the map in the Tile app on your phone. And if your phone is ever lost, use one of the stickers to ping it and it will ring—even on silent mode. If you’re worried about an older adult in your care losing valuable and important items, the Tile Stickers are a turnkey, easy and intuitive solution.
Able Life Universal Stand Assist chair lift is a fully adjustable support frame with handles to help older adults and those with mobility challenges easily get in and out of a seated position. Give your senior additional support while sitting or standing to reduce the chance of falls. Designed for a couch, cushioned chair or recliner in a wide range of dimensions, the chair lift can be fitted either in or around chair or couch cushions, depending on your furniture type or personal preference.
HoMedics White Noise Sound Machine offers a simple, easy-to-use functionality and design, which makes navigating the device a breeze, unlike some of its competitors. At only $22-$24, it’s well worth the investment to enjoy six calming sounds at the push of one button (with no digital interface to mess with).
Beauty
Pamper yourself or the older adult in your care with the shower tablets, shower steamers and bath bombs from Body Restore. Body Restore products blend natural, all-vegan ingredients with essential oils to create relaxing scent blends like “Calm” (which includes lavender), “Energize” (which features citrus notes) and “Relief” (with eucalyptus and mint). And the best news? Subscribe to their newsletter on the Body Restore website and get 25% off your first order.
Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream offers superior moisturization and relief for irritated, dry or cracked skin. It’s free of dyes, fragrance, masking fragrance, lanolin, parabens and formaldehyde releasers, making it great for older adults who have sensitive skin, or who may be overwhelmed by strong smells in their beauty products.
The Shower Body Brush and Back Scrubber from HONOMA looks like something out of a dream. Regardless of age, everyone could benefit from its brush-loofah combination at the end of a long, curved handle for reaching hard-to-reach places like your back or feet, especially for those with limited mobility or stability. Plus, this brush offers a hook for easy drying and a 120-day unconditional guarantee.
Be sure to do your homework, and start a cart or list of the items and deals you want to take advantage of this Prime Day. To learn more about the perks of Prime membership or the day, visit Amazon.com. Happy shopping!