Arthritis Creams: Choosing the Right Ones
If you or someone you know suffers from arthritis, you must have noticed arthritis cream being advertised as a way to treat pain and stiffness. But there are a few things you need to know about the disease and the creams that can keep you from making a bad product choice. The consequences of a poor choice can include drug overdosing, harmful drug interaction and an acceleration of joint damage and deterioration. As you can see it is important to select the right product.
There are a number of different arthritis creams on the market. Most of them can be divided into two different varieties- creams that cool and creams that heat the joints. Both can help you feel better but you need to take into account the type of arthritis you have.
If you have Rheumatoid arthritis, you need to be aware that most of the pain and discomfort comes from heat and swelling in the joints. Increasing the heat can make this worse. At best, the product will not make you feel any better. In a worst case scenario, adding heating products to a joint with rheumatoid arthritis can increase damage to that joint.
Osteoarthritis is somewhat different. It is caused by a breakdown of cartilage in the joints. Once the cartilage is gone, bone rubs on bone and there is pain and joint damage. It is not as important for osteoarthritis sufferers to select which product they use but you do need to think about which medications you are on so you do not overdose.
Basically, if you remember that rheumatoid arthritis causes heat, you will remember that you want to do the opposite and cool the joints down using salicylates and menthol. You may recognize salicylates from the generic term for Aspiring: acetylsalicylic acid or ASA. If you remember this you can avoid using these products if you do have an allergy to this medication.
Creams which heat the joints feel wonderful and really help to relieve the pain and discomfort of osteoarthritis. Because heating the joints is not an issue, it is possible to use heat to make your joints feel better. Heating creams often rely on the pepper derivative capsaicin in order to put heat into the skin and the tissues underneath.
You may find that you don’t need a medicated cream in order to make your symptoms feel better. This is because any massage can increase the body’s circulation. This can help pull away heat and inflammation and help the body to heal itself over time. If you take extra time to rub products in very well you may notice that the effect of the arthritis cream becomes amplified.
As with any different medication, arthritis creams can be an important part of the treatment you are receiving for your disease. You should always ask your doctor before adding any products especially since the skin can absorb enough medication to cause an overdose or other health issues.
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