Non Spill cups for adults:The Best Drinking Cups for persons living with Parkinson’s tremors

Best anti-spill Arthritis and Parkinson’s Cups

Taking drinks while accidentally spilling them all over the place  is a big embarrassment for adults. This however is something that people with Parkinson’s have to battle with day in day out. It even gets worse when the individual hits the stage 3 of the five stages of Parkinson’s disease. At this stage three, the hand tremors become more pronounced and it is really hard for the person to take anything without causing a mess. And of course, their thirst remains unquenched after the liquid spills, right?

Well, you might be wondering why these patients do not just accept that “hey, I have a trembling problem and I need someone to help me take this drink”. If you are wondering so, then this is something you need to know–Most individuals with Parkinson’s feel dependent when they have to look up to a person to hold the cup to their mouths.They want to prove to the world that they are still independent. And so, they would rather spill the drink than accept that they are disabled. Others do not even have these caregivers to depend on since they live alone.

In my research on best utensils for people living with tremors, I have stumbled over the best parkinson’s spoon that will contain tremors and in this article, I will be looking at the best non spill cups for adults with tremors. Yes, there are actually some cups that could contain your tremors such that you take your drink with minimal spillage, thirst and embarrassment.

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Some of these drinking cups for people with tremors are either fitted with straws so that you do not have to hold the cup up to drink but rather suck the drink from the long straw or are sippy designed with lids such that the lid only opens when you suck it and closes when you are not pulling on it with your mouth.

For the purpose of this review article, I checked to see that the cups that one is required to lift to their mouths all had two handles for extra safety and were lighweight so that the patient would not have trouble lifting.

Fleximug Hands Free Drinking Mug – 24″ Straw

Out of all the drinking cups for tremors that I have come across, the Fleximug wins the day because of its great design with the user in mind. The major downside is that you have to suck the drink from a straw and therefore if your patient is against this, then you are done for; you have to look for something else.

The Fleximug non spill cup for adult will first endear itself to you for its unique design and great look. With its gunmetal color, you are sure to fall in love with this mug that also keeps drinks either cold or hot despite the surrounding temperatures. Fitted with a long flexible straw, the cup is designed for disabled people who do not have to lift it but just suck straight from the long straw.

The lid is leak-proof and as such, you need not worry about spillages. However, customers who have reported of leaking cups or straws due to defective manufacture have had prompt replacements showing that the company values customer feedback.

The mug comes with an 18 inch brush for easy cleaning up of the straw where all you are required to do is to insert the brush through each end of the straw, pour in some soapy water, scrub and then rinse thoroughly with hot clean water. The mug can be bought with a clamp-on cup holder which can then be fitted on a wheelchair, bed or seat where the patient likes to take their drinks.

Straws vary depending on what you want. There is the 16inches straw, 24″ and 28 “. All you have to do is order as per your needs.

Word of caution while using the Fleximug

Though the mug can hold cold or hot drinks, caution needs to be taken when taking hot or carbonated drinks from the mug. The guys at Fleximug have started clearly on their website that one needs to release any air pressure as a result of carbonated or hot drinks. If you do not, you could get liquid squirts due to build up of air pressure caused by the drink. This information though is lacking on the amazon sales page and I only found it after a small accident happened at the hospice. An old man was taking Cola from his Fleximug and then we had a squirt. I called the guys over at Flexi and that is when they directed me to this information.

Handsteady Drinking aid

Scooping a number two for the best non spill cups for adults living with tremors is the Handsteady drinking aid that was manufactured by someone whose relative was suffering from Parkinson’s trembling. And who is better to develop such adaptive utensils that someone who has actually found how hard it is to feed than one who has actually suffered from the problem or seen their loved one go through the nerve wrecking ordeal. With the handsteady drinking aid, you will drink from the cup just the way you normally do.

The one unique invention in this design is the rotatable handle that contains your tremors so that you minimize on the trembling. It also has a hidden lid that keeps the drink from spilling over that is fitted with a straw and drinking hole.

 Independence 2-Handle Plastic Mug with 2 Style Lids

The guys who manufactured this cup called it Independence because they want you to still feel independent despite the hand tremors that you might be facing after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Though it works to a certain extent, we did not like it for three reasons:

1. That your cup content will be seen by all and sundry and

2. It does not contain the tremors–they will still be there. The only thing that it does is to avoid spillages since it has a lid that only lets liquid out when you pull with your mouth.

3. The design looked a little kiddish. It looks like the cup you would give your baby after you have weaned them and are training them to drink from a cup.

Despite those three factors, the Independence cup did its job amazingly well. The elderly at our hospice were able to sip their drinks without us having to clean so much mess.

Sammons Preston Spill proof cup for adults

After trying the Sammons Preston weighted spoon for tremors, I thought that the non spill cup for adults from the same company would be an improvement. I was however wrong because these guys seem not to have made the same mistakes with low quality products over and over. However, I still have to review them because well, there were no other reputable cups that would have scooped my number four on drinking cups for tremors.

Selling at a cheap price, the Sammons Preston cup is good for people on a low budget but here is the downside. The cup is brittle and after one of our Parkinson’s elderly fell it, the lid broke into tiny pieces.

Drive Medical Lifestyle Handle Cup

The drive medical handle cup is another good non spill mug for adults but that is for the duration that it lasts. And judging by what I saw, it lasts for an awfully short time before it cracks or breaks into many bits. With a lid that allows you to apply suction to suck, the cup can hold both hot and cold drinks and has two handles so that the patient can try to manage their tremors with two hands.

PROVALE Regulating Drinking Cup, 5cc

As the name suggests, the Provale cup regulates your drinking such that you drink a few milliliters with every sip. Though it is ideal for people with dysphagia, I found that it can also be used for patients living with Parkinson’s disease.

Good for both hot and cold drinks, the cup also had its share of woes no wonder I reviewed it as my number 5 best product. For one, there were so many complaints that some customers got their cups with leaks which is a bad thing considering that these people had decide to purchase the product as anti-spill. At the same time, it does not work with thickened liquids and woe unto you if you buy it without knowing this because you will have wasted a cool $40.

Wrap up on Best Parkinson’s Cup

Having looked at the above adult spill proof cups, I am sure that if you were looking for the best parkinsons cup, then you have something to run for. The above reviewed cups will help both people with Parkinson’s tremors as well as those having stiffness or joint pain due to arthritis. The cups will address some of the below problems

–Spillages and making a mess of your table or dining room since you are not able to hold onto the cup for long

–Embarrassment that comes with you spilling drinks everywhere. This also makes it hard for you to go out for dining or to hotels with friends since you do not want to mess up everything

–The rotatable handle on the Handsteady cup relieves you off joint pain and stiffness of trying to balance your cup while drinking.

–Instability of normal cups when placed on tables; most spillages occur not because one has hand tremros or stiffness but because the normal cups are unstable on the table

–Poor aim; people with essential tremors, Parkinson’s tremors and Arthritis joint pain find it hard to direct drinks to their mouths due to poor aim.

That’s it! If you are having Parkinson’s disease or Arthritis, you might also want to check out our post that addresses how to write effectively using  weighted pens that counteract your tremors.