My Psoriatic Arthritis Is a Rain Indicator
Do your joints ache when it’s going to rain? Do you feel like a walking, talking weather prediction station? You may be convinced your arthritic pain is worse when the barometric pressure falls, but researchers have developed headaches trying to prove this with science. This is a subject I can only give my experience on. I am a psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis patient. I can truly say, before the weather man gives the weather report; I already know it’s going to rain.
Why do I say this? I say this because my shoulders and knees start hurting and acting up; my hands and knees began to stiffen up. It is unbelievable but my joints always show obvious symptoms before it rains. I’ve always wondered why this happens. I know that it’s kind of nice to be able to have an indicator through pain that it will rain.
My friends ask me, "Do you think it's going to rain tomorrow?"
I have pain when it’s not raining, but when it is going to rain it’s another type of stiffness. It became such a humor topic that a friend called me and asked, “Do you think it's going to rain tomorrow”? I laughed and say no. I have no stiffness today.
I know growing up I would hear older folks say when it’s very cold that their arthritis would act up. Now I’m one of them. The colder it became the worse my arthritis became. I can relate because when it’s cold I usually have flare ups. I know rain is very important for the earth. It just does something to my joints when it is coming down.
I know everybody doesn’t share this. It affects me in the most unusual ways. I am not a weatherman, but I do know that before it rains the barometer pressure builds up before the clouds open and the rain begins to fall. I know it has something to do with the pressure which affects the inflammation in patients that have psoriatic arthritis.
Although drier, warmer weather may result in less pain, it doesn’t affect the course of the disease. Arthritis patients who reside in warmer climates are not spared from arthritis pain.
Some tips to help get through the rainy season
Your mood can be a factor for this. Our tolerance for pain drops when it’s cold or raining. We know that the weather effects our mood and that in in the summer I love to go out and walk which helps my arthritis pain, but if it’s raining or cold, I’m not doing anything.
When it rains, I am prepared with my umbrella and rain gear. It’s the little things such as getting caught in the rain that no one would believe affects my condition. It certainly does. We are approaching the rainy season and I am prepared to be a rain indicator and trust the body as it lets me know before one drop hits the ground that rain is on the way. There are four seasons and in each season psoriatic arthritis gets affected by different weather patterns.
My tips to help you feel better would be to get a little exercise, even if you’re inside. Put stress to the side, we don’t need it. Get plenty of sleep; insufficient sleep triggers pain. Use heating pads and cold packs to ease pain.
We can’t do anything about the weather and remember that the pain is temporary.
Over the years I have been an active advocate for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, speaking up and out about this disease and how to improve the quality of people’s lives.
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