Gift guide for Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers

In this gift guide for Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers I will provide insight into helpful items to make life that little bit easier.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You can read the full disclosure here.

What is Rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease.  In short this means it is a chronic illness that can affect several parts of your body including your joints.  It causes pain swelling and stiffness but calling it arthritis is very misleading. It should really be called rheumatoid disease because arthritis is only one symptom.  Other symptoms are plentiful and it can affect your heart, lungs and eyes among other things.  It is painful and can be debilitating and it really does affect all aspects of your life.

On the positive side though there are lots that can be done to lessen the strain that rheumatoid arthritis has on life and in this gift guide for Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, I endeavor to help with that.

Gift guide

When I am feeling sore I want heat, for comfort, and to relieve some pain.

Epsom salts

Hot baths are the top of my list for relief.  Epsom salts are a must to add to a hot bath.  They are a compound of magnesium sulfate and have been used for centuries as a healing agent and pain reliever.  What more do you need to know before you buy some of these gems!

Electric blanket

This is another great idea for comfort on sore days.  Or for when it is cold. The great thing about this is that it has dual controls so if only one person feels the cold or needs the heat; only one side needs to be turned on!

Gadgets

When a flare has set in, simple tasks can become impossible.  Here are some gadgets that can help make life easier.

This jar opener has helped me out more times than I can count. An absolute must for a kitchen.

When fingers get cold or hands are sore, there is nothing worse than fumbling around with your key, trying to get inside. This little gadget is so helpful.

It is a very unpleasant experience when you cannot hold your cutlery properly because of the pain in your hands. For me, luckily this is very infrequent, but this set of cutlery would make this problem less difficult.

Foot massager

This massager has a double function.  It massages and heats up, a real treat.  I used it all of the time and I highly recommend it.  It is brilliant for sore aching feet.

Joint supports

Using joint supports is great idea when it’s needed due to pain and instability.  My wrist straps come out whenever the pain starts.  After all, life carries on and we need to be able to function as normally as possible.  These supports will help.

Straps are also extremely useful when exercising and playing sport.  Support is essential so joints don’t get injured when they are already fragile and inflamed.  These supports will be incredibly useful, for any kind of movement.

Eye help

Sometimes when you have rheumatoid arthritis you can have problems with your eyes, dry eyes to be more precise.  It is awful and it can make them feel sore or gritty.  It’s really unpleasant. There are a few tricks that I have learnt over the years that help.

The first one is good eye drops.  Do not be fooled into buying mediocre eye drops hoping that they will be ok.  A good bottle of eye drops are so worth the money, the relief they can give is wonderful.  The drops I am recommending here are also quite thick so when they are put in the eye they stay there.  There is nothing worse than putting in drops and them running out of your eyes and down your face straight away.

The second recommendation is an electric eye mask.  An optician once told me that warm compresses can help relieve dry eyes and it does.  The problem though is that they do not stay warm for long.  This mask warms up and if you spray it with water you get lovely moist warmth that really helps to relieve the soreness of dry eyes.

Ice packs

This one is self-explanatory but they come in flexible form which is great for wrapping around joints that are inflamed.

Microwave heat pack

This is probably one of my most used items in this list.  They are amazing and so portable.  I always use one of these to wrap around my sore hands.  Also great for alternating between the ice packs previously listed when you are trying to reduce some swelling.

Knee pillow

This last idea is is something that I use whenever I am in a flare. Anyone who is a side sleeper and has ever had inflammation in their knees will understand the pain of sleeping with your knees touching. It is so uncomfortable. This little pillow is instant relief from that and I cannot recommend this enough. It is also good if you suffer with lower back pain by lessening the strain on your lower back while sleeping on your side.

I hope that this helps with your present buying this year, and that it helps someone that you love.

Wishing you health and happiness

Laura xx