Staying Warm This Winter

Brynmor
Brynmor Member Posts: 1,755
edited 8. Apr 2022, 08:54 in Living with arthritis

Many people with arthritis report that their symptoms get worse when the weather is cold and damp.

Here are our top tips from the Online Community on staying warm in the winter:


And some older conversations:

and some poetry 😀


Do add your own personal advice and tips to keeping warm and well over the winter period.

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Comments

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697

    I like body warmers. Easy to get on and off. I have small ones for over base layers and larger ones for over sweaters.

    My hands were not designed for gloves or even mitts so I just pull them up under the cuffs of my coat.

    In bed, I don't need a 'hottie'. I just snuggle up to Mr SW and, no, he's not for sale😉

    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332

    In case you want some @stickywicket you can buy waterproof mittens for adults who have disabilities which even accommodate fingers which might point in different directions.

    Layers for me every time being a woman of a certain age I do need to cool down sometimes too🙄

    and would never be without my blankets when I'm sitting down at home.

  • N1gel
    N1gel Member Posts: 160

    The Guardian (other newspapers are available but this is free!) regularly trots out this article with hints on staying warm I can vouch for the tip on draught excluders by the door.

    A few years ago I invested in a system which lets you control both heating timing and thermostat from your PC or smartphone. It's brilliant and more economical not having to go up to the heating controls.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jan/14/cold-as-ice-how-to-stay-warm-without-whacking-up-the-heating

  • airwave
    airwave Member Posts: 579

    Gloves, scarves and woolly hats, I like to feel warm and cosy, it’s a matter of well-being as much as for arther. My hands are swollen and painful so no amount of gloves will alter that but not letting me get cold is better. Getting into a cold bed doesn’t affect me as I’ll warm up quickly but gett8ng into a warm bed is comforting.

    More worrying is the cost. Of heating the house for me to feel ok, but it is what it is and the energy companies do not care about me as an individual only at the profit and loss account. As usual I am caught in the middleground, my income is not low enough to get state aid or high enough to spend on fuel regardless of the cost of energy. The cost of improving my home to an extent that reduces my energy costs is not within my budget so here along with everyone else we sit and wait………. I doubt if the government, no matter which one, will step forward and keep arthers warm!

    it’s a grin, honest!

  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992

    Apparently increasing your central heating by 1 degree costs about £80 a year or 3% of your bill each month. I keep mine at 18C and wear hoodies so I can keep my hands warm and chuck a blanket over my legs if needed. Luckily I get the £140 heating allowance which helps a bit.

  • Arthuritis
    Arthuritis Member Posts: 443

    @N1gel Does your Heating control system work with a worcester bosch combi boiler? I love your idea!

  • Arthuritis
    Arthuritis Member Posts: 443
    edited 14. Dec 2021, 20:50

    Worcester Bosch Combi boiler… Anyone have one, and found a way to use the internal water repressurisation key (pushing it in and out) without injuring their poor arthritic hand?


    BTW c/h boilers burn gas, but they need electricity to run the pump. In case the lights go out in my area I have mine plugged into a small pure sine wave inverter battery supply, enough for a few hours run time.

    (A computer UPS would also work fine, but they keep beeping while running on battery).

  • N1gel
    N1gel Member Posts: 160

    As it just interacts with a room thermostat (you can place anywhere) via timing controls and on-off function I don't think it matters what kind of boiler you have.

    I had mine installed about 6 years ago, here's a link to a Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hive_Connected_Home

    I can't remember how much I paid, as a British G*s priority customer I got a discount, which was nice..

  • Arthuritis
    Arthuritis Member Posts: 443

    @N1gel Thanks!

  • airwave
    airwave Member Posts: 579

    Just as a note, British Gas has informed me that my March debit will move upwards from £99 to £264 wiping out in the process another weeks income. Unless the government will bring in a price cap it will be a chilly spring? I hear that Turkey can’t afford to buy in the gas (it’s a state run enterprise) before it gets to householders and they have asked for large reductions in consumptions. I doubt if the rest of Europe is in a better position?

    Whatever Putins endgame is will result in unpleasantness for millions but then he’s holding the cards until the lack of foreign currency bites. Anyone, other than Germany and France who do, want to be friends with a bully?

  • Cimca
    Cimca Member Posts: 33

    Well I'm off to bed until spring! Seriously, the pain in my left knee particularly in this weather is appalling, never mind the rest of me. Full doses of co codamol and tramadol are not really touching the pain. My gas account has just increased by £50 which I can just afford however this does not heat my house to a bearable level. I have a super under blanket on my bed and several books that need reading. So on with all the thermals and the wrist splints, lots of hot drinks and retire until the sun appears once more.

  • Jona
    Jona Member Posts: 406

    I woke this morning and I thought i had been transported back to my old council house in the 60s no central heating and shivering my nose as cold as a dog and omg the pain in my joints reminded me I wasn’t in the 60s in time but in age but I did remember how we layered clothes in them days I’ve actually started to wear thermals under my clothes but nope I’m not putting the heating on

    There is nothing good about the good old days does anyone feel the same as me this country is going backwards?

  • Cimca
    Cimca Member Posts: 33

    Hi Jona

    Yes,, couldn't agree more. I remember those days from my childhood but things did improve. I am now horrified having worked all my life and only recently retired to be living in a world where heat is a luxury item to be used sparingly if at all. For those of us who have conditions which heat is beneficial for, it is a double whammy.

  • Jona
    Jona Member Posts: 406

    Hi @Cimca ,

    It really shouldn’t be regarded as a luxury I mean when we were young to jump around and play kept us warm if I jumped I’d probably fracture something now 😌 but it’s rather sad that we are regarded as a non productive drain on society they certainly didn’t think that when I worked 60 hours a week in a factory at 16 for £3.00 an hour and from the getgo they took tax and NI I’ve just retired too and to boot I have noise induced hearing loss from working in that factory definitely no health and safety ah again the good old days I think I’ll do what your doing go hide under my duvet till spring 🤪😊

    take care 😊

  • scotleag
    scotleag Member Posts: 84

    1960s & 70s we had a coal fire but it was never lit in the mornings as both my parents worked and my brother and I were at school. By the time a fire got going everyone would have been out the house. And when we DID get central heating it too was coal-fired. Heating in the mornings consisted of keeping the oven door open. So, no the 'good old days' were far from good. Like everyone else I'm dreading these looming energy price rises. Cheapest I can find is a 70% increase which is absolutely crazy.