Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune arthritis that can cause a lot of pain and stiffness of the joints of the body when it is active and not yet under control with treatment.
In this Article we are going to tell you about six important things that you can do to help and to contribute to a loved person who has rheumatoid arthritis especially when their disease is still active and not yet controlled with treatment.
Number 1:
Help them with their daily tasks:
Help them with their basic tasks of daily life that they should do. Rheumatoid arthritis, if still active, makes many activities of daily life painful and difficult. Where possible, you can help with some of those activities or take over and do some of them yourself.
Number 2:
A pleasant smile and a pleasant attitude:
More important than helping a rheumatoid arthritis patient with their daily activities, is to make sure that whatever you do for them you do it with a pleasant smile and a pleasant attitude. This is one of the greatest kinds of support you can give to a rheumatoid arthritis patient.
Don’t complain: Make sure you don’t complain or refer to their rheumatoid arthritis as a burden to you or to the family. It is a burden to the family at some level of course. The healthy definition of the burden here is that someone we love is in pain or is suffering. Expenses you pay and efforts you make to help and support them should not be the main or the big definition of the burden here.
A rheumatoid arthritis patient has enough pains and sufferings to face and deal with when their disease is active. They don’t need the extra pain of feeling they are burdening somebody. Remember that if patients receive good treatment and really get their disease under control, they will be much better and will likely return to a near normal life if not normal life. So, any burdens, hopefully, are likely to be only temporary conditions and not permanent conditions.
Number 3:
Adapt the house to the needs of a rheumatoid patient:
Make sure that the house is well set and adapted to their needs. One example is door knobs and water taps: get the brands or the styles that are more rheumatoid arthritis patient friendly. There is a long list of items that can be brought or adapted to the needs of a rheumatoid arthritis patient. We
As I mention this point, I remember what one of my rheumatoid arthritis patients once told me when she was expressing how grateful and thankful she was to her husband; when they bought a box of mineral water, her husband was in the habit of opening the cap of each bottle in the box to break that plastic seal and then closing it again so that she would not have a hard time opening those bottles later and breaking their seal herself as it gave her such a hard time and frustration sometimes.
Number 4:
Accompany them to their doctor
Accompany them when they go to their rheumatologist for a follow up visit. You don’t need to be with them in the doctor’s office always but at least accompanying them and waiting for them in the waiting area every time they go to the doctor is a tremendous support that you can give to them. They will appreciate this always.
Number 5:
Join them in doing exercise for rheumatoid arthritis:
There is always some kind of physical therapy or exercise therapy that can be done for every level of activity of rheumatoid arthritis. When the disease is more active and inflammation is intense, physical therapy can help. As the patient’s condition improves, he or she can rely less on physical therapy programs and can progress to doing some exercises that are prescribed to them by their doctor. This will always include aerobic exercises, strength-training exercises, stretching exercises or water exercises. They help to reduce inflammation, strengthen the muscles, strengthen the bones and improve cardiovascular health.
One area where you can really help and contribute to a rheumatoid arthritis patient is to join them in doing those exercises. On one hand this will encourage them to participate on a more regular basis and on the other hand it will also be a great bonding time for both of you.
Also, yoga is another good option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis; you can join them in yoga classes. Yoga instructors can modify some of the yoga poses to help patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It can be a good stretching and strengthening and relaxing activity for rheumatoid arthritis patients.
And since we mentioned yoga which is a combination of exercise and relaxation, why not also mention meditation classes which are another great chance to bond and to gain the benefits of those sessions together.
Number 6:
Spend time with them or take them out:
Keep showing that you care by spending enough time with them or take them out if this sound like a good option or a practical option.
Finally, rheumatoid arthritis can be a tough diagnosis and a burden to your loved ones but you can definitely do a lot of things to lessen that burden on them and even to bond more with them.
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This post was prepared and published by Dr. Hatem Eleishi. Dr. Hatem Eleishi is a professor of rheumatology at Cairo university (Egypt) and is especially dedicated to supporting arthritis patients with online educational videos and articles about arthritis causes and treatment. He also runs a rheumatology clinic in Cairo and a center for www.tabibakom.com/en that, in addition to providing online rheumatology consultations, also provides online medical consultations in several different medical specialties by expert consultants from Egypt, Canada and the United States.
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