Tips for living with RA
To help you on your way towards a better quality of life, below are some tips to help make things easier on you. If you need more advice, there are many great rheumatoid arthritis resources to turn to, like
The Arthritis Foundation.
Daily tips
- Keep more than one vacuum in the house, so you can leave one on each floor. This will eliminate the need to make difficult trips up and down the stairs with a heavy vacuum.
- Prioritize your day and finish the things that are most important first. That way if you run out of energy or have a flare-up, you can be a little less stressed knowing you made the best use of your time.
- Take your time with big tasks. Set a kitchen timer for 10 or 15 minutes. When it goes off, be sure to take a break and come back to it later once you've given yourself time to recover.
- Watch the weather. If you believe the weather has an impact on your RA, be sure to check your local weather forecast. You can find local weather reports in the newspaper, on TV or even on the Internet.
Some other things to think about
- Let yourself go. On vacation, that is. Make yours a good one by remembering to bring extra medication, a spare prescription, insurance card, comfortable shoes, your healthcare professional's phone number and, of course, your camera.
- Play it safe in the sun. Protect yourself when you go out into the sun - wear sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen. Check with your healthcare professional as some medications can leave you more vulnerable to the sun's harmful rays.
- Treat your muscles. Find a certified massage therapist and treat yourself to a good rub down. The benefits vary from person to person, but may include decreased pain and increased circulation, energy and flexibility. And besides, it just feels good.
