Many years ago [early post-grad work in 1971], we were testing elderly folk for their ability to use various household appliances … One simple baseline test was the amount of ‘squeeze’ that they could apply with their hands to a bathroom weighing scale.

Some of the results were astonishingly feeble compared with our young hands.

… astonishing until now !!

MichaelG.

Hello Jim

I can't offer too much comfort I'm afraid.

Ibuprofen helps (a lot), remembering not to grip things like spanners, screwdrivers and pliers too tightly, not getting cold (e.g. staying in the warm) and lot's of stretching and moving about (e.g. not spending hours hunched over things).

Gloves have been mentioned recently and whilst they are certainly not a good idea when using machinery, they certainly do help at other times when filing and hacksawing for instance – quite apart from helping to keep your hands warm.

Regards,

IanT

I got "arthritis" in most of the joints in my body, and was shopping for a wheel chair.

It was too painful to stand, and I could barely use my arms and hands.

The doctors said "well, you are just getting old, nothing we can really do except prescribe a bunch of steroids".

In desperation I researched online, and ran across celiac's disease.

I was a poster child for most of the symptoms.

I was not aware that glutton could cause arthritis symptoms.

I stopped eating all glutton (wheat, rye, barley, and for good measure oats), and within five days, all of my joint pain vanished.

A few years later it started up again, and I was scratching my head.

This time I got off all dairy, and again the pain cleared up completely.

So I am allergic to all dairy products, all glutton products, and even allergic to "glutton-free" products that contain any type of grain.

Beware when the doctor mentions arthritis.

Maybe it is, and maybe it is not.

Perhaps this can save someone the pain I suffered for about a year.

.

I'll make it clear firstly that I'm not saying you're not allergic to the above but it is an interesting area to explore. Some years ago my Practice went through a spate of seeing young to middle-aged dogs with polyarthritis. In itself it's weird that we saw several cases over a few years and then they became rare again.

Some were easily diagnosed as septic polyarthritis but the majority were determined as immune-mediated/autoimmune within the ability of diagnostic workups available. Those were usually treated with immunosuppressive drugs to control signs and then weaned off. There was an interesting correlation between those cases and the historical use of sulphonamide antibiotics – often many years before. The correlation was so strong that I banned the use of any sulphur based products unless labwork determined it was the only treatment option (as opposed to an economic therapy).

However one has to keep in mind that correlations aren't 'proof'. Because sulphur based products were widely used it may just have been a statistical anomally. In that particular case other workers were finding similar but because of the time delay between past use and signs it wasn't realistic to challenge the patients with more sulphur.

One might assume that our banning of the products was the reason such cases vanished – and pat ourselves on the back for being clever. Howveer there is an (unrelated) condition called feline dysautonomia with really dramatic and pathognominic signs that suddenly appeared in the early 80's, killed a lot of cats and then suddenly became very rare – despite a lot of research no trigger factor was every proven albeit a lot of speculation.

The placebo response is very powerful in people and indeed in owners' perception of their pets (think itls better than it is 'cos they wish it so). Also spontaneous remissions may occur (or remissions due to the removal of a different trigger) such that to really prove an allergy or intolerance (where there isn't a specific test) can take multiple challenge trials to overcome 'chance'

For 'simple' allergies I used to start my clients off by keeping a diary. Wuth luck one could find a clear correlation. One classic was itchy 1-2 days after going to the park if they had cut the grass in the park on the day – try guessing that one! – stilll indeterminate whether grass sap or threshed pollens etc but at least avodiable.

For the really tough cases one had to consider putting pet in a hypoallergenic environment, on hypoallergenic feed and introduce suspect proteins one by one – something few clients would be prepared to go through.

"correlation does not imply causation"

pgk

Jim, electric garage doors

I,m 82, no problem turning handwheels, spanners, or hand tools ect, but the lids on glass jars are another matter !

One would need a hand like a gorilla to deal with them, and dont even mention blister packs !!!!!

Sad to think that you had to let your machines go, I suppose that,s down the road for me when I get old.

Just spotted this news item:

Robotic glove

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-56071636

pgk

A good splash of very hot water from the kettle straight on the lid, then immediately undo with a cloth.

PGK Interesting comments on sulphonamide , my father was nearly killed by them , as used on treating desert sores while fighting Erwin Rommel in '42.

Only saved by the Matron , in the hospital in Alexandria ,secretly telling him not to take the tablets anymore !

I have similar hand/arm problems now but more related to a muscle wasting disease , no cure, no treatment.

I went to see the doctor about 40 years ago with pains in my fingers. My mother suffered with osteo arthritis in her hands from her fifties onwards, so the diagnosis was straightforward. The best bit of advice the doctor gave me was to keep the fingers straight and they would not end up like curled up claws. I have taken glucosomine and omega 3 oil for many years. I don't know if this has helped or not, so deciding whether to take herbal remedies is up to you. The The arthritis has progressed slowly from joint to joint, the first ones were the end of the middle fingers, after all this time they no longer hurt, but only move about 20 degrees. At the moment, the end joints of my thumbs are the most painful. The strength of my grip in much diminished and picking up small things is difficult, and writing anything more than a cheque is not on. My knuckle joints are the least affected, fortunately. When I had my first knee replacement, I was on a high dose of morphine for 24 hours, and during that time, I had no pain in my fingers, which felt quite strange.