You Deserve a Better Shower With RA
Do pain and fatigue make this daily ritual an ordeal rather something to enjoy? Check out my tips for showering with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain in my new column for HealthCentral:
“STARTING THE DAY with a shower can be one of the most exhausting things you do with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Mornings can be hard, filled with a.m. stiffness that makes you move like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, and the accompanying pain as you force your joints to move. It is also emotionally difficult; waking up in pain is part and parcel of RA, but no one tells you about the raw emotion that comes with it. Of knowing that the only way to get to a place of less pain is to force your joints to move and, in the process, cause more pain. There was a time in my life when my RA was so bad that I started every day in tears. It began as I forced my body out of bed, moving gingerly in a futile effort to reduce the pain that flared high at every movement, then continued in the shower, my tears mingling with the water streaming down on me. I know I’m not alone in that experience. You know that taking a warm shower can be an important part of thawing out your stiff body, but also that the work involved can leave you so exhausted that all you can do is sit on the edge of your bed, your hair in a towel, ready to call it a day.
This is the very definition of RA irony: When the tool that can help manage your stiffness and pain will leave you exhausted and in more pain. So how do you navigate this part of the morning routine? Today, I’ll share some of my hard-won tips for better showering with RA.
For all the reasons mentioned, physical and emotional, taking a shower can be an intense daily test of mind over matter. And, frankly, we don’t get enough credit for it—from others or ourselves and perhaps the latter is the most important. So, before you start thinking about how to make your shower easier, it might help to acknowledge the at-times-monumental difficulty you overcome to get it done. Knowing just how a shower affects you and the rest of your day can be an important part of thinking creatively about workarounds. Let’s look at some of the ways you can do this.”
Read my column on how to make taking a shower easier with RA.
Tag: .disability, chronic pain, hygeine, mobility aid, pain, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid disease, shower, shower chair, skincare, washing hair
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Easy shower? Get a seat, and make it hot, hot, hot. But for goodness sake do not tell my wife I said anything about the Hot, Hot, Hot part.
OK, Well I know I should not say hot, hot, hot.
As long as you’re just referring to water temperature, yopu should be OK. 😉