Cold homes in the winter can create a list of issues for everyone, but for those living with serious medical conditions, these colder months can become a lot harder to cope with. For those living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, the winter exasperates the symptoms they live with all year; stiff joints in the hands, elbows, hips, knees and ankles all being impacted.
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that sees your immune system attacking the cells found in your joints, causing swelling, stiffness, and intense pain.
As time goes on, this will leave lasting damage to your joints as well as your cartilage and bones.
It is unknown what causes this condition to occur within the immune system but risk can be heightened if you are female, have a family history of the condition, or smoke.
If caught early enough, the condition can be treated to ease the time between flare-ups. Treatments include:
- Medicine eases symptoms and slows down the progression of the condition.
- Physiotherapy and occupational therapy help keep sufferers mobile.
- Surgery can be carried out for any joint issues the present themselves.
How Does a Cold Home Affect Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The cold weather will worsen the symptoms caused by the condition. These low temperatures will increase pain sensitivity and massively slow down blood circulation, causing muscle spasms.
The joints in the human body can also respond to the changes in air pressure around us causing our muscles and tendons to expand, adding extra stress to an already crowded area of the body.
Tips For Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Cold Home
The main focus here would be to keep you and your home warm as much as you possibly can. There are many ways to do this:
Keeping your Home Warm: maintaining a comfortable and consistent temperature in your home will prevent the cold from making your symptoms worse. You can also employ various methods in the home to stay warm such as:
- Sealing gaps and cracks in your home, around windows, doors, and any you may find on exterior walls. Drafts can also be eliminated with the use of draft excluders in front of doors.
- Layer up over night with blankets to keep warm. Hot water bottles are also a great way of staying warm in bed!
- Insulating your home adequately is the most effective way of keeping the warmth in your home during the winter.
Managing the Symptoms of the Condition: keeping a warm home is just the start and you will inevitably face moments of intense flares, it’s how you manage these flares that can making coping with Rheumatoid Arthritis a lot easier:
- Taking warm baths or showers will relax muscles and improve the flow of blood around the body.
- Staying active if you can is a effective way of keeping your joints healthy and reducing pain.
- Yoga or meditation can be good for managing any stress you may feel. Stress can worsen symptoms if not caught early.
Energy Support For Those Living in a Cold Home
It can feel like you are fighting a losing battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis, especially when it’s living within a cold environment. Tackling this cold by improving the warmth of your home, you can reduce the impact of the condition.
Your home may not be energy efficient, but you can make the most out of government-backed grants to upgrade your home. These free energy upgrades are shaped to improve the energy ratings of properties across the entire UK by installing completely free upgrades like solar panels, insulation, and air source heat pumps.
Hundreds of pounds can be saved annually with these upgrades, easing the blow of energy bills. If you suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis and you live in a eligible property, your overall household income will not come into account. Quickly check below if you qualify for these grants by simply clicking the button below.
