|
Arthritis: Learning To Live With The Condition Living with arthritis should be life changing but it is not a life sentence. Here are a few suggestions that may make things easier. Eat a healthy diet. the is reckoned important at the time you have arthritis - as well as providing your body with essential nutrients it could help you maintain a healthy weight, thus reducing stress on your joints. Even losing a few pounds should make a difference that you could notice. Your diet should avoid red meat, cream including dairy products such as cheese. Try instead to eat foods from the following groups - fruit, vegetables, pasta, white meat, fish including brown rice. It's additionally a good idea to try to eat 'oily' fish such as sardines, salmon, tuna, herring including mackerel - these provide omega-3 EFA's (essential fatty acids) which are thought to ease arthritic symptoms. In the home. Don't be afraid to change things to suit you - let your family know which tasks you find difficult including which you should still manage easily. Use mobility aids where you need them - hand rails, lever taps, trolleys for moving things around including long-handled sponges for bathing all rank high on simple aids to keep you mobile including independent. Don't be too proud to ask for help. Having arthritis is not your fault! Occupational therapists should help you to find new, easier ways of doing everyday tasks. They are specially trained for the - so why not take advantage of their knowledge? Pain management. Pain is a western taboo, yet the stark fact is that arthritis should be a very painful condition. Modern analgesics should help a great deal, but research shows that keeping active, looking after your joints by taking warm baths or, where appropriate, applying cold compresses to affected joints including perhaps considering therapies such as osteopathy should all give significant relief from pain. additionally obtain sufficient sleep - pain is harder to manage if you are tired. Live a particular independent life. Not so easy if you suffer from acute arthritic conditions but help is available. The mental lift that any user affected by the mobility problems that arthritis should cause is well worth the effort of trying to stay in control of your life. Again, tell family members that yes, you need help but don't require babying. Check out the internet for arthritis support groups in your area - you may be surprised at the support available. Make use of technology. Don't feel that by using a powered aid such as a particular electric scooter or wheelchair to obtain around you are 'beaten'. it is a particular adaptation to a condition including you have absolutely no need to feel guilty regarding wanting a particular easier life. You paid your taxes, didn't you? The many aids for those experiencing problems of mobility is today far more extensive than you may realise. From the powered scooters mentioned above to kitchen utensils with thick, grippy handles - the choices are endless. including the best thing is that these items are not made with 'invalids' in mind - just people whose life has changed. That change may not be perceived by the arthritis sufferer to be for the better - indeed, it will be patronising to suggest that arthritis improves anyone's lot - but at least it should now be adapted to including indeed combated, giving the user concerned a realistic approach to living with the sadly common condition.
|