RA and Cold Weather
How does the cold weather impact your symptoms? Have you found anything that helps manage pain and stiffness during the winter season?
I’m aware that very cold weather really affects my joints, increasing my pain and stiffness. I find that endeavouring to stay warm makes the biggest difference for me - so I will dress in layers such as fleece lined leggings under jeans, thermal vests with long sleeves, wool socks. I use pocket sized heat packs if I have to stand outside for more than a few minutes (collecting grandchildren from school). In the house I use reflective panels behind my radiators to reflect the heat back into the room rather than it escaping out through the house walls (brick) - these look like thick aluminium foil and have a rod with hooks that attach to the radiator. These have made a big difference! I try to only heat the rooms that I am using via radiator thermostats - since the cost of fuel increased so much a few years ago I am more wary of heating costs. I have a heated pad for my back that goes in the microwave then stays warm for several hours, this works both for pain and as a warming device😀 When sitting on the sofa or lying on top of my bed resting during the day I have a variety of rugs, throws and a heated over- blanket.
The colder I get the stiffer my joints get - then more pain, it can be a vicious circle and is miserable 🙁
Having a thermos flask filled with a hot drink (lemon tea being my favourite) that I can drink from, as required, is so helpful !
Trying to make sure that I move around on a regular basis and using ‘range of movement’ exercises with my hands and arms and legs and feet keeps the blood moving around and aids keeping warm and preventing stiffness from setting in.
One of the best developments in ‘car comfort’ for me has been heated seats with back warmers and a complete revelation in my most recent car - a heated steering wheel! I cannot describe what a difference that has made- I have even used it in the summer to soothe very sore, swollen hand/finger joints.
The eternal RA favourite of wax baths for hands or feet are a home treat that really comes into its own in colder weather!
Apologies for a somewhat longer reply than intended - we are in the middle of a very cold snap just now where I live!
Hope this is helpful😀
Go Well,
Cece x
Hi CeCe3. Reading your article I can certainly twin with you. Mione are worse in the morning after trying to sleep. I remember telling the Rheumatoid team it is like having early riga mortis (apologies if spelt wrong) in my fingers. They feel stiff and solid. But you know what, over the last 9 months I found some exercises online for hand/finger rheumatoid arthritis and believe me they certainly work. There are 5 exercises and you do 30 movements for each. After thank I just rub each hand slowly. I feel set for the day then. I also find when washing my hands, if the water is warmish, that helps with the stiffness. I find it hard trying to lift plates and cups as the bones are sore and really hurt when I lift. And trying to open bottle tops, well I just ask the son in law or my daughter to do it for me. Unfortunately I do not have any details of the exercise but can try and explain them below.
First you raise your hands in front of you and just bend the fingers down and then up again , then each one do 30 times, this follows with hands out in front, bring the thumb up underneath the fingers so it looks like a ducks mouth and you open and close like a ducks mouth again for 30. Next hands stretched in front of you with palms facing, try to close your fingers into a ball as far as you can and the thumb comes forward and wraps around your first finger, again oopen and close thum and fingers 30 times, next you do a similar movement but this time you put the thumb into you hand first and wrap your fingers around the thumb in the same position as the last one, then the last one I find the hardest. ands outward, palms facing slightly inwards. Try and scrunch your finger ends just downwards and at the same time scrunch the thumb inwards to. Open and close for 30 times. I then rub both hands slowly. I find this softens the stiffness. Hope you understand them and hope they give you some relief. When I wake during the night and my fingers are stiff i do the exercises then whilst lying in bed. Good luck. Christine B.thank you so much Christine- I will give those a try😀
Cece xx
Parafin dip for arms and hands helps.
I got microwaveable hand warmers last Christmas.they resemble mittens.they are so cozy!they warm my hands well.not only do I live in Maine but I also have Reynauds. I wear gloves 24/7. I also have rechargeable hand warmers.they work wonders! thank you so much - I haven’t seen these so will have to do a search online😀
I have Reynauds so gloves are very important for me. I have fingerless gloves to read with on my tablet and they are surprisingly effective
Hi
. I know that our contributor Daniel finds fingerless gloves helpful for multiple things. I even recall him badly cutting his finger when he couldn't find his gloves and was trying cut the fingers off a regular set of knives with kitchen knife - he highly recommended not trying that (Daniel likes to mix humor with his input). Thank you for sharing. Best, Richard (Team Member) yes I have a number of pairs of fingerless gloves including some fingerless ones😀
Wheat or grain heat packs / mini muscle pillows, warmed up in the microwave oven, help when the weather sets on. I love in Australia so we are opposite of the Northern hemisphere, but the rainy season wrecks my joints. I am a human barometer! But heat packs seem to do the most for me in the weather extremes. Curcumin tablets and ibuprofen help take the edge off as well as inflammation is put at bay.....for a while.
thank you Richard😀 As a psychotherapist I am very aware of the mind-body links and the impact of major life events on the immune system. I have found that the most important thing in stressful or traumatic situations is to allow yourself to have your feelings - to make time and space for them. I’m also a big believer in ‘writing (or drawing if that’s your thing) it out’. Putting your feelings down on paper gets them out of your head and body to an external place where you can consider them. Talking to a therapist/counsellor/grief support service etc can be very valuable- speaking to someone who is not involved in your situation allows you to speak without censoring yourself in case you upset the other person. It’s also really important not to medicate the grief as that interrupts the processing of the grief. When Drs prescribe drugs like Diazepam to ‘calm’ the person they can become stuck in a ‘frozen grief’ stage and have great difficulty in moving forward. I do wish that more medics understood that using benzodiazipines (as well as the risk of addiction) causes psychological harm in not allowing the person to process what has happened.
Bach Flower Remedies such as ‘Rescue Remedy’ are very good for shock and grief - as well as things like exam stress etc. Being a natural remedy made from plants they don’t have adverse effects on the brain’s function in processing grief. Rather they are supportive of the process and helpful in situations like getting through the funeral.
This site continues to surprise me with the breadth of articles and links to clinical research. You guys are such a valuable resource yourselves and very kind and supportive with it. Cece xx
thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and understanding of the emotional impacts of RA and the mind-body links. It sounds like you've done a lot to figure out what helps you manage some of those feelings. I would agree that having someone to talk to (like a therapist) can really be valuable for so many people, and I really like the idea of writing things down or drawing things out.
I'm so glad that you're here and we really appreciate the comments, information, and support that you add to community here.
Sending you gentle hugs! -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
