Suffering from arthritis does not necessarily mean that a person is old and cannot work or move. It is just necessary to address the pain and symptoms of the disease and follow certain precautions to lead a satisfactory life. Since it affects posture and body image, it can affect the person's self esteem adversely. These changes can be frustrating, and the person can be under constant pressure in terms of his social abilities.
Problems Faced by Arthritic Patients
- Sleep: There are lots of emotional factors associated with arthritis. The pain and stress regarding arthritis often deprives the patient of his sleep. The lack of sleep worsens the pain and general arthritis symptoms. Therefore, this is a vicious circle. The patient will need more hours of sleep in order to regain his energy levels.
- Dependency: Nobody likes to depend upon others for their day-to-day activities. The arthritic patients are never ready for the dependency that is unavoidable. As a result, they become more and more depressed and become less mobile because they don't want to take somebody else's help. This can happen even when you show your willingness in helping him.
Ways to Care for People Suffering from Arthritis
First and foremost, you have to help them deal with their emotional problems. It is important to talk to them about their fears and explain the consequences. They should learn to accept the changes that have come about and need to work around their situation. Other things that you can do in order to help them are:
- Educate Yourself: In order to care, you should extend support to your loved one who is suffering from arthritis. It is important to educate oneself about the type of arthritis afflicting them and its nature and course. You can do this by using the Internet. This way, it becomes easier for you to understand the disease well and be prepared to deal with any consequences in the future.
- Taking Care of Medications: It is a good idea to accompany your loved one to the doctor's clinic or hospital. Knowing about the do's and don'ts and the medications which your loved ones are taking goes a long way in helping with their condition. As it is not always easy to reach the doctor immediately, you will know what painkillers to give the patient when they are suffering from excruciating pain.
- Are Exercises Good or Bad?: There have been studies that prove the fact that exercises have been greatly effective in controlling pain related to arthritis to a satisfactory extent as well as keeping the patient as active as possible. However, sometimes the severity of the symptoms may be very high, due to which any type of exercise becomes a burden to the patient. Accompanying the patient to the exercise sessions will give a sense of confidence to the patient as well as giving you the much-needed knowledge about which joints and muscles should be worked on and which should not.
- Equipping the Home Environment: The home and the surroundings of the arthritic person can be equipped with devices and adjustments that can help the patient in carrying out his day-to-day activities. Making the person as independent as possible will help in uplifting his self esteem. He can also be assisted in his daily hygienic activities such as bathing, wearing, and changing clothes, etc.
- Dealing with Disability: Sometimes, when the patient is unable to move about because of severe disability or pain, you as the caretaker have to take the decision and the responsibility of transferring them to seek medical advice.
- Secondary Complications: Arthritic patients can also develop some secondary complications because of disability and the compromise in their posture, etc., so they may develop some bony deformities which should be regularly checked and avoided as much as possible.
- Motivation: The arthritic patient should be constantly motivated and encouraged to live his life in a dignified manner in spite of his disabilities. He can be taught to use the various assistive devices to make his life a little less dependent on others, thereby increasing his confidence level.
Empathy is the emotion that is more required than sympathy when you are dealing with a loved one who has arthritis. What they require is an understanding from you about what they are experiencing as well as support from you for them to become as independent as it is possible.
