Arthritic Joints eBay Store is Now Open!

Arthritic Joints is now on eBay!  We currently offer Arthritis Awareness products such as a ribbon lapel pin, auto magnet, travel mug and tote bag.  Other arthritis related products will be listed as well!

To celebrate our opening, we are running a 20% off sale through January 31, 2010!  In addition, the first 10 customers will receive a FREE arthritis awareness lapel pin and auto magnet!

Check out our new eBay store while the sale is going on! 

If you are unable to see the image above, you can also see a listing of all our available store products by clicking “on eBay” in the ArthriticJoints.com menu bar.  It’s an easy way to see what we have before going to the store.

Arthritis Awareness Travel Mug

I use this travel mug everyday!  This steel-lined travel mug holds 14oz and keeps hot beverages warm for about two hours.

This arthritis travel mug has a large handle to accommodate swollen fingers and the lid goes on/off easily.  To put the lid on, simply push the lid down on the travel mug.  To remove it, simply pull off at an angle to ease the strain on fingers.  I find that it’s much easier than screw on lids or thumb-tab lids.

Use for coffee, tea or your favorite beverage.  Although this is a travel mug, I find that it is great to use in the home since it keeps hot beverages warm longer than a standard coffee mug.

Promote Arthritis Awareness while drinking your favorite beverage!

This Arthritis Awareness Travel Mug can be purchased in our new eBay store.

Arthritis Awareness Tote Bag

I love this tote bag!  This large tote bag measures 17 1/2″ wide by 14″ tall.  Pack it full of your necessary items and know that they will not fall out!  It has a zip closure with a zipper pull for arthritic hands. 

I use this tote all the time!  Take it with you to your doctor appointments (with plenty of reading material, of course), to meetings, arthritis expo’s, to the beach, birthday parties, sporting events/practices, trade shows…anywhere you need to carry items.  The best part is that you are promoting arthritis awareness while you use it!

This Arthritis Awareness Tote Bag can be purchased in our new eBay store.

Arthritis Awareness Blue Ribbon Pin

Wearing a blue ribbon pin is an absolutely easy way to promote arthritis awareness.  Pin to your jacket, lapel, hat/cap, backpack, tote bag, etc.

This arthritis awareness blue ribbon pin is outlined in gold-tone with a butterfly clasp on the back.  It measures 3/4″ long x 1/2″ wide.

Be an advocate.  Wear daily to promote arthritis awareness or wear to arthritis events in your area.

This arthritis awareness pin can be purchased in our new eBay store in various quantities.

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Arthritis Awareness Auto Magnet

Easily show your support for Arthritis Awareness with this car magnet.  This blue ribbon magnet measures 8″ x 3 1/2″.  The magnet is royal blue in color with white lettering.  Professionally made in the USA.

Place it on your vehicle, refrigerator, file cabinet, etc.  I use it on my own vehicle and always get comments on it.

Be an arthritis advocate.  Purchase for yourself, family, friends, events, etc. 

This arthritis awareness auto magnet can be purchased in our new eBay store in various quantities.

Going Back to School with Juvenile Arthritis

It is that time of year again!  Children are going back to school soon or have already started. 

If your child has juvenile arthritis, going to school can be a difficult experience.  Many children, and some teachers, just do not understand the effect juvenile arthritis can have in a school environment.  If that sounds like your child’s situation, check out this book:  Taking Arthritis to School by Dee Dee L. Miller.

This short book is about 32 pages and describes arthritis so children can understand it.  It can be read to classmates to help them understand what their fellow student is going through.  Classmates will also learn that their fellow student is just like them despite having juvenile arthritis.

This book would also be a great way to introduce to your children or young students that people are different in the world.  The sooner we start educating our kids about the differences in people and that being different should not set us apart from everyone else, the better we will be.

Check it out!

Can You Reduce Brain Fog by Playing Brain Age?

Do you experience brain fog?  According to the Arthritis Foundation, brain fog or fibro (fibromyalgia) fog is “commonly used for the cognitive difficulties that can occur with fibromyalgia.  These include confusion, lapses in memory, word mix-ups and difficulty concentrating.”  It is terribly frustrating when this occurs because it is difficult to pull yourself out of it.  Sometimes it seems like your brain is just numb to anything.

I recently starting playing the Nintendo DS Brain Age 2 game, in hopes of stimulating my brain.  After years of having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in multiple joints, increasingly potent medications and the onset of fibromyalgia, my brain does not function as I would like.  At times it feels as though I am in a perpetual fog that will not lift.

First, I can tell you that the game is just fun.  It takes you through three different tests in order to determine your brain age.  The overall process takes about 5-10 minutes.  When you are finished, the game computes your brain age score (however good or bad).  The game also keeps a record of your brain age scores and displays them graphically so you can gauge your improvement (decrease in brain age) or downhill performance (increase in age).

Second, your brain definitely receives a workout with this game.  You will sometimes be asked to provide a losing answer which is not an inherent way of playing a game.  All of the tests, really make you think in a way that you may not be used to or have not done in a while.

Now will it help your brain fog?  I hope so.  The game is designed to stimulate your brain.  It is essentially mental exercise.  In order to attain a better brain age, you must be able to concentrate more and effectively use your memory.  Those are the areas we struggle with when we are dealing with brain fog. 

I play the game for about 5-10 minutes every day and my brain age has been improving!  I feel like it gets easier every day for my mind to accomodate what I want it to do.  So why not try it out?  You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Recommendation:  If you have arthritis in your hands or fingers, I would recommend a larger and thicker stylus in order to prevent any hand pain while playing the game.

Good luck!

Let’s hear it.  Have you tried Brain Age?  Do you feel or see an improvement in your cognitive abilities?  Has your brain (fibro) fog lifted?

Save Your Cane With This Inexpensive Cane Accessory!

I recently went to an event that necessitated a great deal of walking.  Knowing that I would need assistance, I decided to rely on my cane for help.  Because I have been fortunate enough to not need the cane on a regular basis, I neglected to remember that it does not have a strap.

Through the course of the event, I dropped the cane several times while attempting to carry items, reshuffle items, take pictures, etc.  In the middle of that chaos, I also unknowingly left the cane propped up somewhere and didn’t even realize it.  Luckily, I was able to find it.

The end result…I was so worried about keeping up with the cane and not dropping it, that it took the focus off of the event.  I now have several chips in the cane, as well.

The sad thing is that this could have been easily prevented with an inexpensive accessory…a cane strap.  Cane straps fit securely on the neck of your cane and allow you to put the strap around your wrist when you need to use your hand for something else.  Using the cane strap prevents the cane from falling down and also prevents you from misplacing it.

Cane straps are usually anywhere from $2 to $6 each depending on the type you select.  You can find them on eBay, Amazon, in medical supply stores or cane suppliers. 

If you have not purchased a cane yet, then when you are in the market for one, save yourself some trouble and purchase the cane strap at the same time.

Here are some cane straps currently on eBay:

Try Warm Whiskers Wraps to Help Relieve Juvenile Arthritis Pain!

Warm Whiskers has a fun line of products that can provide hot or cold therapy to those suffering from arthritis pain and stiffness.  They offer neck wraps, body wraps, slippers and body pillows in various adorable animal-shaped designs.

These aromatic products can be heated in the microwave to provide soothing warmth to sore joints or muscles and can also be frozen to provide cold therapy as well. 

If you’re child has juvenile arthritis, try using Warm Whiskers products instead of a traditional heating pad.  Heating pads are great for adults, but they are difficult to control the temperature.  Warm Whiskers offer a safer method of warming sore little joints.

Kudos to Warm Whiskers for these child-friendly products that offer a solution to serious pain! 

Warm Whiskers gives back too!  Last year, they gave away “Laraby Lab” pillows to 400 children at the 2008 Juvenile Arthritis Conference.  You have to love the smiles on the kids’ faces!

Through March 31, 2010, Warm Whiskers will donate 5% of each sale to the Arthritis Foundation.  Now, that’s a win-win situation!

Whether you have a child with pain or you are a child-at-heart, these Warm Whiskers products are bound to brighten up a sore day!

Take a Few Moments to Read “Poor Liam” by Jack McGlone

I just came across this touching little book on the Arthritis Foundation website.  The book is Poor Liam by Jack McGlone.  It is about Liam, who is diagnosed with arthritis, and is written by his second-grade brother.  It is very fitting since July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness month.

This book shows that arthritis does not just affect the person who has it, arthritis affects the family and loved ones of the person who has it as well.

Take a few moments to read this touching book. You can read the entire book online at the Arthritis Foundation website.

Kudos to Jack for writing this book about his brother!

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