Health Notes, October 12th 2008, by Sarah Stacey

Fashion and beauty for women with arthritis
Just like anyone else, women with an illness feel their mood lifting if they know they look good as the wonderful charity Look Good Feel Better (www.lgfb.com), which gives make-up workshops for women with cancer, has demonstrated over decades.   Indeed, research confirms that helps patients cope with physical and emotional challenges.  So both I and my colleague Sinead O’Connell on the YOU Fashion desk were delighted to help with a beauty and fashion guide for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), produced by Arthritis Care.  The YOU team swung into action: Sinead recruited Marks & Spencer who provided clothes, shoes and accessories from their Autumn/Winter collection and our Picture Editor Eve George secured top photographer Charlotte Murphy who shot the guide for free.

RA is most common between the ages of 30 and 50, and women are in the majority of the 400,000 sufferers.  The cause is unknown although there may be a genetic factor in this autoimmune disease where the immune system starts to attack the body instead of defending it.  The resulting inflammation causes joints, tendons and muscles to become stiff, painful and swollen so it’s hard to grip a mascara wand for example, to pull zips with little tags or do up fiddly buttons.   General problems include fatigue and stiffness and, since there is no cure for the condition only management, many people feel depressed. 

Mary Cowern, 42, one of the six models (four women and two men) in the guide, has constant pain and stiffness in her wrists and other joints; ‘then when I have a flare-up, all the major joints get bad from my neck to my ankles.  On a bad day, I can’t hold a pen, and one foot can be a whole size larger than the other.’  For Mary, taking care of her appearance is ‘massively important.  Living with a condition like RA where you are battling pain and seeing your body go into funny shapes takes away a lot of your personality.  Making yourself look good goes a long way to break the depression cycle so you tackle your arthritis better. Even if I feel rubbish, I think “dammit, I’m not going to sit here wallowing in pain, I’ll get up and do something”.’   (For Mary, that’s voluntary work for Arthritis Care and studying for a degree.)

One thing that really bothered Mary was how to cope with her medium length, layered, auburn hair:  ‘It’s difficult for me to lift a hairdrier so doing my hair presents quite a problem.’  Lesley Drummond from John Frieda in Mayfair exceeded Mary’s wildest dreams by giving her a superchic, wash’ngo ‘pixie’ cut.  ‘She suggested I use volumising products and also showed me how to rub strands of hair between my thumb and forefinger to give it instant lift.’  We also tracked down a hairdrier stand (from www.twenga.co.uk, click here) which means Mary can give her mop a quick dry with virtually no effort.

The fashion challenges were relatively simple to meet, according to Sinead: ‘this season’s over-the-knee skirts solved the dilemma of finding something smart for the women that covered inflamed knee joints, which is a common problem.  Cardigans with good-size buttons worked for both sexes, and separates and frocks with side zips.  The only gap was jeans – they all had tricky buttons or zips – but the guys compromised with cargo pants that fastened with poppers.’ 

The oRAcle fashion and beauty guide is available free from Arthritis Care download it at www.arthritiscare.org.uk

SOS cream for eczema
Several readers with eczema have written praising Barefoot Botanicals SOS Rescue Me Face & Body Cream (£9.95 for 50 ml tube).  I’ve always loved this brand, whose co-founder Hilery Dorrian has 25 years experience as a homoeopath, acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, specialising in skin conditions.  While nothing will suit everyone, it’s really worth trying this gentle, natural range.   From Victoria Health at £9.95 for 50 ml tube: with your special 5% discount, that’s £9.45, plus free postage for online orders - just click here.

Medical ID
The MedicAlert Foundation, now 40 years old, provides identification jewellery for anyone with a hidden medical condition or allergy.  Available as a bracelet, necklet, wristband or watch, the MedicAlert Emblems are engraved with the wearer’s vital details, a personal ID number and a 24 hour emergency telephone number that can be accessed worldwide, in over 100 languages.  From £39.95.  Tel: 0800 581420, www.medicalert.co.uk.

HEALTHY BOOKSHELF: How to QUIT without feeling S**T
This tome from nutritionist Patrick Holford and addiction experts David Miller and Dr James Braly gives a helpful, holistic and very thorough guide to quitting dependencies from sugar to drugs, via cigarettes, antidepressants and alcohol.  To order a copy for £11.04 (rrp £16.99) from Amazon, click here.