Winter Fibromyalgia: How to Reduce Seasonal Chronic Pain with Mountain Ice
Substantial fatigue and difficulty in daily function accompanies myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. These diseases often co-occur, and have many commonalities: they're medically unexplained, predominantly occur in women, have overlapping symptoms and risk factors, and require careful management for better daily living. And like many chronic conditions, they can be affected by seasonal changes. Read on to learn ways to reduce the impact of winter on fibromyalgia and other chronic diseases!
Winter & Fibromyalgia
People with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome regularly report worsened symptoms with cold weather. The impact of seasonal conditions is by no means uniform among people living with the condition, but a number of climate factors can exacerbate symptoms like joint pain, headaches, and skin inflammation or tenderness, including:
- Extreme temperatures
- Sudden or consistent fluctuation in temperature
- Changes in barometric pressure
- Increased exposure to wind
- Dry air, whether it's from the cool air of winter or dry heat from your home's heating system
Managing Winter Fibromyalgia Symptoms
1. Moisturize Regularly
Many people with fibromyalgia have dry skin or some form of skin inflammation, and skin can be extremely sensitive to seasonal changes. Winter weather is prone to sudden shifts in temperature that can dry your skin quickly. The cool air outside may lack humidity, as do warmer indoor temperatures. Winter can lead to dry skin before you realize it.
Make sure you moisturize regularly, using a moisturize that contains ceramides. These lipids are naturally found in your skin and help maintain your hydration and your skin barrier, which prevents irritants from entering. They're also found in reduced amounts during dry seasons, so make sure you counter the dry, cool air by moisturizing right after you're done showering.
2. Control Your Indoor Climate
You might be indoors a lot during the winter, especially if it's cold or rainy. You might consider buying a humidifier to counteract the cold, dry air that can impede your skin's ability to absorb moisture. Also make sure to keep your home temperature at a reasonable level to prevent overly dry air from your heating system.
3. Stay Active
Fibromyalgia patients are prone to joint pain, which can be worsened by stiffness from cold weather or reduced activity. Find ways to get exercise as the weather cools. If outdoors options are reduced by a cold winter, you might consider gyms, fitness classes, home exercise equipment, indoor tracks, or even simple range-of-motion exercises that can be done at home.
4. Get Your Vitamin D
Your biggest resource for Vitamin D is sunlight, which may be lacking in winter, especially as studies are increasingly connecting lower levels of the vitamin with fibromyalgia. Get 600 IU of Vitamin D a day (or 800 IU for those over 70) from fatty fish like tuna, swordfish, and mackerel, or fortified products like milk, breakfast cereal, and orange juice.
How Does Mountain Ice Work for Fibromyalgia?
Treating fibromyalgia can be an unclear process, as the causes of the disease are unknown. Many medical professionals prescribe similar treatments and lifestyle changes as those prescribed for neuropathy, including pain relievers, physical treatments like massage, improved diet, increased sleep and physical activity. Mountain Ice Pain Relief Gel reduces fibromyalgia pain to help patients more easily engage in physical activity, but it also does so much more.
Although the source of fibromyalgia pain is difficult to determine, the widespread muscle pain it causes is easy to locate. Mountain Ice cools the top layer of the skin, which then numbs and blocks pain signals to the brain, providing temporary relief of muscle pain.
The combination of natural ingredients in Mountain Ice Pain Relief Gel also facilitates absorption of anti-inflammatory and pain relieving ingredients deep into the muscles and joints, allowing for increased blood flow and reduced swelling at the source of pain and not just at the surface of the skin. Thanks to its potential to reduce both the pain sensation and the inflammation that causes it, Mountain Ice can be a valuable option to explore for anyone seeking to reduce chronic pain.
