Watching the storm systems roll across the United States as well as other countries since the holidays has triggered a concern in me for my readers and clients who suffer from fibromyalgia. This chronic condition, known for its often relentless debilitating pain, does not mix well with frigid temperatures.

I watched the forecasts week to week as the dark blues and purples of sub-zero temperatures pillaged the continental US down to even Florida and Texas. You know it’s way too cold when vultures come to roost en mass on condo patios.

Some of the best natural aids for easing fibromyalgia pain involve heat in a variety of applications, whether it’s with a heating pad, hot stone massage, aqua therapy in a heated pool, or other means.

It would follow, then, that cold (especially when blasted at the sufferer by Old Man Winter) would have the opposite effect. Heat heals, cold hurts.

As I track and trend the comments that come in during different times of year I see a dramatic uptick in emails pertaining to arthritis and fibromyalgia pain when the weather turns colder. What is generally more easily managed in warmer weather with pain levels, quickly turns uncontrollable with just one trip to the grocery store on a -10 degree day.

The point here is that people who have chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia must take special care when preparing for cold weather. And as our friends south of say, Oklahoma can attest, this includes everyone even if your average winter temperature is usually not less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most everybody has learned at some point that exposed skin can be damaged in a matter of minutes in extremely frigid temperatures, and are usually prepared to cover that up when outside.

Where the problem sometimes pops up is not dressing properly for speedy trips running necessary errands, going to and from the car with work or shopping, dropping the kids or grandkids off at school and so on.

You might think that you are only going to be in the colder weather for a short period of time, and that might be true. You might also think that it’s not worth it to bundle all the way up from head to toe for such a short period of time.

However, if you suffer from fibromyalgia, I have to tell you that you would be wrong there. Even just a minute or two in cold temps on your trek through the parking lot or waiting for the heater in your car to get up to temperature without proper clothing is like extending an invitation to Jack Frost to come stomp on your muscles.

Those of you who are already convinced and know that I am ‘preaching to the choir,’ chime in. There are enough folks out there who suffer the consequences of not grabbing a hat and driving gloves before setting out that might like to know your comments about what a difference a bit of preparation makes.

A friend of mine complained to me once when I told her that her winter pain increase needs to be mitigated, saying “Christian, it just seems stupid to take all that time to get a hat, coat, gloves, scarf, boots…whatever…when I am just running the kids to school.”

I asked her how much time she thought it actually takes. “Oh, gosh. At least 5 minutes. Then I have to unwrap all the layers when I get home. What a pain.”

I am a big fan of irony, but not at the expense of my friend’s comfort. That is just bad. So after that interaction, I got all the things she said were not worth the extra time spent climbing into. Then I got a stopwatch.

Boots, hat, gloves, coat, scarf and sunglasses went from hooks to body in less than 1 minute and I wasn’t even rushing. I was already dressed in sweats and a T shirt, which is what she wore for that speedy errand, so that was fair.

I did have all my “stuff” in one spot ready for throwing on, but even if I had to go to the next room for my coat that would have only added a few more seconds.

My little experiment wasn’t designed to prove her wrong or say, “I told you so.” It was to reinforce that 1) I care enough about you to see it from your point of view; and 2) I might have info that can help you…your time estimate is a little off so maybe give it a try next time you go out and see how you feel when you get home.

I haven’t gotten ‘in her face’ about whether I was right or not regarding which is more painful…cold weather aches or preventing them in the first place, but hopefully she considered what I said and acted on it.

For more information on how to help bring your fibromyalgia or arthritis pain under control, try my guides for the natural ways to treat it.

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