Psoriatic Arthritis & Compression Gloves

Having psoriatic arthritis is not always about the pain. Oh, who am I kidding, it is always about the pain.

Psoriatic arthritis is such a hard disease to live with. I am finding that to be truer the longer I live with it. Whenever I heard anyone say how their arthritis was acting up, I always thought it was something old people had to deal with.

Yet another painful symptom

Boy, am I so wrong on that thought. I am not old, far from it. However, the more psoriatic arthritis takes over my life, the older I feel. It is for that reason I am always looking for things that will help make my life better, especially those parts of my body that hurt, better. Lately, other than my knee, that body part has been my hands.

Long before my journey with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, I was a secretary for many years. Back when I started, we used electric typewriters. There was no saving your work on a flash drive or in a document like there is today.

The keys on the typewriter were not always easy to compress. It took some effort. A lot of days my hands were bent typing documents. Anything that causes our joints to be used in a prolonged period is going to have an impact on how quickly arthritis can damage that joint.

Painful fingers

I am blessed to be able to work from home. However, that work still involves many hours of sitting at a keyboard typing. Even though I take breaks to stretch my body, most of the time I forget to stretch my fingers. By the end of the day, my fingers are hurting.

Psoriatic arthritis is like a runaway horse. Once it starts running, it doesn't seem to slow down. My back, my hip, my knee, and now my fingers are all involved. Okay, I guess I should say a team of horses running away.

Many options for compression gloves

One of the things I noticed early on is that my fingers get cold, even when it is warm. So, why not wear gloves all year long? That is when I came across arthritis compression gloves.

To my surprise, you can find them basically anywhere in plenty of options. You can get the gloves with the fingertips on or off. You can even get them where the fabric goes all the way up to your arm. For me, it is the ones with the fingertips left off. I still have the need or desire to feel the keys on the keyboard. The best part is that at the end of the day my hands are not hurting like before.

Tips & tricks

I would be remiss in my beliefs if I did not let you know a couple of details. First, make sure the gloves fit comfortably. Do not get them where they are so tight it leaves marks on your fingers or hands. You want them to be a little snug but not restrictive.

Second, it is recommended that you wear them no longer than 8 hours. Think about it. Eight hours is a workday or better yet a recommended night of sleep.

Have you tried them already? Do you find that it helps your hands when you are sleeping?

I am not sure if I wore them at night that it would help me not to have to wear them during the day. I would hate to find that my hands went back to hurting during the day to find out. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.