When my cousins visited for my mother’s birthday last month, some of my female cousins and I got into a conversation about our various remedies for arthritis. All of us females on my mother’s side of the family are afflicted with it.
Noni juice was the preferred tonic of one cousin, who has carpal tunnel as well as joints in her hands that tend to swell. White raisins soaked in gin was the preventive another cousin suggested. In my refrigerator is a jar filled with raisins soaking in gin. If the effective ingredient in that concoction has something to do with the sulfides/sulfites used to make the raisins golden, I’m out of luck because I use organic raisins (I have a sensitivity to sulfites). If it’s the juniper berries in the gin, along with the health benefits of raisins, it just might work.
Over the years, I have found sulfur-based compounds good for a variety of afflictions. The best salve for a pimple breakout was a prescription ointment I had years ago that had a sulfur base.
These days, my vitamin shake that I take every day includes my addition of a teaspoon of MSM powder. Go here for more information about Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). My arthritis symptoms are minimal.
My grandmother, who grew all kinds of (what we thought were) weeds in her back yard that she soaked in 100 proof alcohol and used for various ailments, including arthritis, also was given injections of gold for her swollen joints.
I wish I had paid more attention to my grandmother’s “old wives” remedies when she was alive. But I was a teenager and had other priorities.
I wonder what she would have thought about gin-soaked raisins.
Kalilily Time
Just an old lady talking to herself
Elaine, my husband has severe rheumatoid arthritis, and my mother comes from a long line of people with rheumatoid and osteo arthritis (and she has both). After a disasterous dance with conventional therapy (chemo and anti-inflammatories), Bob did a lot of health research and very successfully manages RA with alternative treatments: glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin, fish oil, borage oil, Sam-e, folic acid, CMO, probiotics, less carbohydrates, very little beef, and no coffee. He went from going upstairs on his hands and knees, to hardly ever having a flare up. My mother’s stomach is more sensitive, but she uses glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin, pomegranate extract, and regular exercise – she doesn’t sit still. She also keeps her hands working by knitting a lot. My grandfather (who lived to be 97, with 96 of those years active and vital) cautioned my mother about never allowing the pain to force you to sit around, which was something his father did, since that eventually made him unable to move.
Gina
I agree that the MSM/glucosamine/condriotin regimen seems to work for lots of people. I’ve also begun drinking pomegranate juice. I know that exercise is important, and I have to work on that. As far as my hands go, I’m always either knitting or crocheting. Good for my head as well as my hands. Also good to hear from you.
My mother has arthritis in her hands and swears by daily long, hot baths (two hours) which she manages by letting the cooling water out and topping the tub up with more hot water. She often reads and does Sudoku puzzles in the tub and frequently has to dry out her magazines and puzzle books. She has also rubbed Aspercreme or Penetran Plus into her hands if they get sore. So far (at age 60) I find that if I have sensitivity in the joints of my hands I can get relief by eating oily fish–salmon is my favorite, but I also eat canned kippers and sardines.