One of my most vivid childhood memories is that of standing beside my Grandpa Jack each morning and helping him gently, gently massage the cramping curves of each of Grandma Ruthie's fingers until she could very slowly straighten those fingers out by herself. She never complained of the pain, but sometimes, during the day, I would look up and catch her crying as she tried to do the simplest things, use scissors to cut out a coupon or open a jar.
Every night before bed Grandma Ruthie would have two shots of Jim Beam, straight up, one right after the other, just before bed. She called it her "medicine" and swore it eased the pain in her hands ... darned if medical science has not caught up with the woman!
Alcohol helps rheumatoid arthritis symptoms Rheumatoid arthritis patients who drink alcohol tend to have less severe symptoms than those who don’t, a new study finds.
Earlier research has shown that compared to teetotalers, alcohol drinkers are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive and often disabling inflammatory disease that attacks the joints.
But the study is the first to suggest drinking alcohol can lessen the severity of symptoms in people who already have the disease.
Patients in the study who drank at least 10 alcoholic beverages a month had 20% to 30% less pain and inflammation than patients who didn’t drink alcohol, rheumatologist and study co-author James Maxwell of England's University of Sheffield tells WebMD.
Jeez, no wonder my family won't take me out!
Previous Topic
Index