Comments on: Preventative First Aid for Rheumatoid Arthritis / Autoimmune Disease

By: Tammi Day

Tammi Day — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:22:51 +0000

Be careful around cats with claws, they are naturally unhygienic. My cat’s name is Shredder, and no, it’s not because of what she does to the furniture…

By: Laura Haglund

Laura Haglund — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:33:26 +0000

Sugar is the immune system’s worst enemy. Before it was discovered that sugar causes drastic drops in white blood cell counts, I was observing its effect on myself.

All my life I had suffered from one cold after another, 5 or 6 a year. With so many instances to observe, I noted that even the subtlest symptoms of onset were quite consistent. The next step was to prove my suspicion that sugar could set off these symptoms. Alternate abstinence and binging made it obvious to me that my colds were not “caught” but triggered. I went cold turkey. No sugar for 6 months — and no colds. I have had less than one every two years since.

A sugar-free life hasn’t prevented RA from creeping in on me, but it keeps a lot of preventable problems from making life more miserable.

I use Stevia extract instead of sugar or poisonous substitutes. A cup of cocoa can still brighten cold winter nights.

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:39:54 +0000

Thanks for the great tips!

By: murphthesurf

murphthesurf — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:12:46 +0000

Have your own toothpaste. If you have a family, we tend to share these items. I keep both my own toothpaste and toothbrush and keep them far away from all others. This alone has cut down on illness more then any other tactic I have tried to date.It worked so well, I bought everyone their own toothpaste in my home. Also I keep alcohol wipes near my phones to use when someone is sick in my home. Before using a phone, I quickly wipe it down. I have both a college student and a hubby that is out in public all the time. Even when they have picked up something, I have been fortunate enough to avoid it with these two techniques.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:44:29 +0000

You could add wearing gloves at night to keep the bandaides in place, also will help with medicine creams (like volaren for RA & OA) along some cream & nail cream too…wake up feeling so much better. Wearing gloves help keep you from scratching at night which happens with the meds & dry skin. Also I don’t scratch my head now as I have dermititis now from meds or RA – not sure which…

By: sally

sally — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:31:02 +0000

Hi, I was just diagnoised last week with RA and I am trying to learn
as much as I can. I was so glad to find this site. Just reading about
how important it is to drink alot of water I mentioned this to my
neighbor who is really into healthy eating and this is what she said.
Everyone should add 1/4 tsp/quart of good quality sea salt to their drinking water after age 21. You don’t hydrate properly without it. The water just goes to the extra-cellular water (outside the cells). For it to go into the cells, you need to add the sea salt and that is where real hydration takes place. I just started doing this today but
she has been doing it for 20 years. I’ll let you know how I do trying
this out.

Sally

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:37:46 +0000

Thanks for the extra tips, Charlene!

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:32:20 +0000

Good luck with the Rituxan Louise. I hope it helps you a lot.

By: Louise Mckean

Louise Mckean — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:47:35 +0000

I am about to begin Rituxan treatment which is notorious for depleting the immune system by killing off the effected B cells. This is chemotherapy administered by two infusions.
During treatment and for about 12 weeks after I have to be extra cautious and use good common sense to ensure the likelihood of picking up an infection is mimimal. I ask my family and friends to politely stay away if they have colds/flu. Unfortunately this means staying at home a lot especially during winter and avoiding shopping malls, movie theatres and the doctor’s office…I have refills on all my prescriptions. I am not paranoid by nature but as a realist, my life depends on using prevntative first aid measures. Who needs the ugly consequences! Thanks Kelly and all Warriors.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:54:35 +0000

I have been practicing most of these tips for several years now, but didn’t know what to call it. On my last visit, my rheumy remarked how remarkable it is that I have so few infections compared to most of her patients (about 10% of people on Embrel wind up in the hospital every year, not just her patients, any of those patients anywhere). I have a few more tips that have worked well for me. I rarely shop when the stores are most crowded, and I especially stay away from the pharmacy section during those times. When I use a public restroom, I use a paper towel, when available, to open the door. I do my best to schedule visits to my family doctor as early in the day as possible. I get seen without spending as much time in a waiting room full of sick people. I get my flu shot as soon as it is available. And when a friend or family member outside my home gets sick and needs some soup or something, I will leave the container at the front door, or if a church friend, at the church for someone healthier than me to deliever and to visit. Right at first, all of that preventive first aid seems like a bother, but after a while it is just the way you do things. Thanks for giving a name to this.