Using a sunbed??

need me bed

Hi all,

i have RA especially in hands/wrists, I was chatting to someone the other day who told me I should try using a sunbed maybe a couple of times a week as it could be good for Arther. I know my RA gets better if I go away somewhere (to Spain for instance) warmer and sunnier... it's quite comical to be fair, im all bent up and shuffling, yawning, moaning and in pain getting off the plane... get out of the airport and start uncurling, walking better and get straighter and straighter and walking more 'normally' on the way to get the hire car!! OT finds it amusing too. Anywho... What does everyone else think?? i don't understand how using a sunbed is for anything other than tanning.... I'm pasty white and that's how i like it... what's the deal with all these sunbed users going orange and thinking it looks great like katie wosherface... ??

If anyone can shed some light it would be helpful.

x

Lea

dreamdaisy

I think it's a generally well-known fact that arthritics benefit from good doses of vitamin D (20 minutes of natural sunshine per day is recommended, which is fine if you do not live in a dull little country to the north of the world) but whether that particular vit is to be found in fake sunlight, well, I dunno. Try it and see - you do not have to turn orange, just one session a week might suffice. DD

PS I have to admit I am curious - why does an oocupational therapist go on holiday with you? Is that all part of the service where you live?

need me bed

Sorry Daisy.. I meant OH but am an idiot that can spell a 2 letter word as you have noticed! To be fair I don't think anyone has a service THAT good on the NHS lol

L
x

dreamdaisy

I suspected that is what you meant - I loved the idea tho! Hell, that would be some service, yes? Thanks for not being offended - not everyone gets my humour! DD

need me bed

Hi again,

I've read a lot of your posts, no I'm not stalking you but you seem omnipresent.... every page i look at has usually had a daisy post on it and to be fair some of them actually made me laff, You have a great sense of humour and I'm not easily offended, I've been around too long to worry about that kinda stuff You seem like my kinda person too so here to a new blossoming friendship I hope

L
xx

dreamdaisy

'Tis true, I fear - I get everywhere. I have sent you a PM. DD

valval

i have a pal who swears by going on sun bed but not tried it myself do try to go abroad couple of times a year may and october to get going and charge batteries to last winter (they ran out this year) lol

elnafinn

Hi Lea

I have used sun beds a few times but this was to get a tan before going on holiday. I would never do it now. Grown much older and wiser perhaps There are health risks for starters.

Sun beds can help clear up skin disorders like psoriasis and excema however anyone with this problem is strongly recommended to consult their doctor before doing this and only consider it after all other treatments have been tried.

I would stick to your foreign holidays rather than go down the tanning bed route.

Look after yourself,
Elna x

dreamdaisy

Isn't vitamin D good for bones too? Does it boost calcium production or summat? DD

cherrybim

Oh, it's a no no Lea!

I bought a sunbed one August, got shot of it in the October and I was £300 down the drain on the deal

Ten minutes out in the fresh air, even with the weakest sun is sufficient to let vits A and D kick in

Also don't forget that direct sun/sunlight on the body is a complete no no with many arthritic meds.

Do take care, like Elna I'm older and wiser these days

dreamdaisy

Oh that is a good point, cherrybim, I had forgotten that sunshine is a no-no with meth etc. Thanks for the prompt. DD

cherrybim

dreamdaisy wrote:

Oh that is a good point, cherrybim, I had forgotten that sunshine is a no-no with meth etc. Thanks for the prompt. DD

Ah yes DD, many years ago (as in 33) there was an arthritic dmard, "Opren" manufactured by Eli Lilly It was hailed as a wonderdrug and I took it in conjunction with injected sodium aurothiomalate (gold) brand name in the UK, Myocrisin.

The adverse effects of Opren turned out to be one of the costliest law suits that Eli Lilly had ever encountered, running into billions of US dollars. Very sadly it affected the older patients more than the younger.

One of the myriad side effects was photosensitivity and I spent an entire holiday in Crete immersed in the swimming pool during daylight hours. :sad:

My mad moment of buying my own sunbed was 15 years after I took the Opren & Gold but immediately I saw the caveat about methotrexate I had the benefit of hindsight.

The lightbulb moments still happen sometimes

dreamdaisy

I had real problems with a meth rash on holiday last year, there I was, wandering around all day in bright sunshine, having completely forgotten about meth and sunlight BUT surely just a ten minute session once or twice a week, on a lowish setting (can you set these things I wonder?) wouldn't harm, and could help. I had to resort to the calamine due to my own negligence/stupidity, but there could be some merit in this idea, as long as one is sensible. DD