What Are The Best Drinking Glasses For The Elderly?

It's important to know which drinking glasses are best for older people for many reasons. You are probably wondering about this for yourself. Look no further. We have researched all about which drinking glasses are best for the elderly and have plenty of answers to share.

In general, the best drinking glasses for the elderly are small, easy to hold, and lightweight. That said, there are drinking glasses explicitly made for the elderly to use, such as the Nosey cup and dysphagia cups. Furthermore, you may want to consider choosing a cup that isn't breakable, like silicone or plastic, so those are some ideas to try.

If you still have some additional questions, don't worry. In this post, we'll discuss the topic in more detail. Continue reading to learn which drinking glasses are best for the elderly, some specific examples, safe straw use, and more important information. Let's get into it.

Nice-looking caucasian mature woman drinking hot coffee, What Are The Best Drinking Glasses For The Elderly?

Appropriate Drinking Glasses For The Elderly

An old woman inside the house, holding a cup of coffee.

When it comes to which drinking glasses are best for people who are elderly, the main attributes include that the drinking glass should fit in your hand nicely, not weigh very much, and not be easily breakable.

Some are even weighted, which slows down tremors and prevents being knocked over, while some are shaped a certain way to work better for an older person's movements.

One of the main reasons a glass for older people should be small is that it is easier to grab, making a world of difference for those with weaker hands.

Arthritis is also a common problem for this age group. If you want to lessen the chance that an older adult will drop their drinking glass, choose a somewhat small, lightweight option.

What To Consider When Choosing Drinking Glasses For Elderly

Over the shoulder shot of a senior man reading a newspaper while enjoying a cup of te

When it comes to the size of the drinking glass, you should consider the cup's weight. Also, think about what will be in the drinking glass. For example, a four to six-ounce cup is a great size for juice. A 12-ounce cup is an okay size for water.

We do not suggest drinking glasses that hold more than twelve ounces because the glass becomes too heavy for older wrists, which could become painful.

The propensity of seniors to accidentally knock over cups is another aspect to consider when choosing the right drinking glasses. Silicone drinking glasses are a great example of glasses you can not break.

Materials like plastic, aluminum, and silicone, in general, are the best alternatives to glass for older users, so try to look for those options.

Furthermore, Arthritis is one type of pain that makes it difficult to hold onto drinking glasses, and hand tremors cause their issue, which comes along with Parkinson's disease. These are only two struggles of many to remember when choosing the right drinking glasses for an older person.

Other Things To Consider

Drinking glasses with lids are helpful as well. The smaller opening helps prevent an elderly person from pouring too quickly and spilling a drink down the front of their body.

That said, there are dishwasher-safe options such as the one pictured below.

See this cup on Amazon.

If the elderly person in your life is becoming weaker in time, then a lightweight cup is best. Otherwise, they can use a weighted cup. The weight in a weighted cup is at the bottom of the cup and helps keep it in place, decreasing the likelihood of spills.

Worrying about whether or not an older person spills their drink is unnecessary because you want to avoid the mess; it's important because many seniors lose their independence over time.

This causes them to become frustrated when things like spills happen. If it is avoidable, you will want to help or inform a caregiver of the need for help.

What Is A Nosey Cup?

Nosey cups are specifically designed with older people in mind. A Nosey cup is a cup made of polypropylene plastic. They also have a cutout on one side, which allows the person drinking to prevent hitting their nose.

The Nosey cup makes it so that you or your loved one can drink a beverage without having to tilt back their head. This is important because it decreases the chance that an elderly person will choke due to their drink going down the wrong tube.

See this set of Nosey cups on Amazon.

How To Use A Nosey Cup

To be effective, the cutout on a Nosey cup has to be the opposite of the side the person is drinking from. A Nosey cup allows an older person to keep their head straight forward when drinking, which is why it is specifically geared toward the older population.

This makes it, so the risk of a drink going down their respiratory tube is much lower.

The only downside is that someone should direct the elderly person to use the cup if they have dementia or Alzheimer's disease because they could forget which side to drink from.

What Is A Nosey Whiplash Cup?

A Nosey whiplash cup is similar to the original Nosey design and comes from the same company. The only notable difference is that one side of the cup is sloped rather than having a cutout, so the two are very similar.

Are Nosey Cups Dishwasher Safe?

Having dishwasher-safe cups is the best. It takes one less stress out of your day. Because Nosey cups are made of polypropylene plastic, they are dishwasher-safe. So yes, both the Nosey cup with the cutout and the Nosey whiplash cup is dishwasher-safe.

What Is A Dysphagia Cup?

Dysphagia is when someone has a hard time swallowing. This means dysphagia cups are made for people who have trouble doing this, especially older individuals.

That said, whoever uses a dysphagia cup needs to tuck their chin to their chest while taking a drink to help them swallow the liquid inside.

On top of that, there are also cups with built-in weights toward their base, which can come in handy for those with dysphagia. Weighted cups are also helpful for people suffering from tremors, so we recommend them. Furthermore, these cups will offer a wider handle, so any hand can easily grip one.

Click here to see these dysphagia cups on Amazon.

Safe straws are used as a drinking aid for people who suffer from dysphagia and need help getting the liquid to the back of their mouth and throat.

These straws can significantly decrease the chance of aspiration when an older person is drinking, so they might also be worth looking into.

How Do You Use A Safe Straw?

A safe straw is used by inserting your straw into it. Usually, the straw will be roughly 0.25 in diameter. There is also a one-way valve built into the straw and a float which allows a specific amount of liquid (approximately one tablespoon) to come through at a time.

Click here to see this product on Amazon.

What Kind Of Mugs Are Best For Older People?

Positive middle aged spouses sitting at home holding cups with black tea beverage.

Luckily, you should find coffee mugs that are lightweight and easy to hold for older people. This is important because mugs are what we use for hot beverages such as coffee or tea most of the time.

Both are favorite pastimes for many. Furthermore, you can help make sure an elderly person does not burn themself is choosing a slender and lightweight handle for them.

To Wrap It All Up

Beautiful 50 years old caucasian lady sit down on the sofa drinking tea

You should check a few essential attributes off your list when choosing drinking glasses for an older person. Keep in mind the glass should be lightweight, comfortable to hold, and be made of a material that will not break if dropped.

Older people enjoy drinking coffee, hot tea, or both; therefore, choosing a lightweight mug is another thing to be mindful of. Remember, the easier a glass is to hold and use, the better it will be for someone on the older side.

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