Capsaicin For Arthritis – What Should You Know Before Use?
One of the more interesting additions to the arsenal against arthritis pain is something you might have eaten for dinner at some point – capsaicin. Or, it’s also commonly known as a chili pepper.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – How Act?
This fiery arthritis reliever works just in the way you think it would – by warming the skin and making the joints and muscles around the area relax. But that’s only a part of the process.
What capsaicin does is helped to desensitize the skin as well. Within our skin are receptors to pain that cause us to feel the aches and the throbbing. But when these receptors are desensitized, you can be pain free for months at a time.
The substance P is what is associated with pain in the body. By interfering with or depleting this substance, the brain does not receive messages of pain and so you don’t feel the pain.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Latest Research Information
In one University of Oxford study, it was found that 4 out of 10 arthritis patients were able to reduce their pain by almost half after using capsaicin cream for a month. This is a dramatic difference and it can certainly help arthritis sufferers as well.
In fact, capsaicin has also been recommended for those suffering from neuropathy, from muscle pain, from joint pain, from nerve pain, and from shingles, a painful condition that affects older patients.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Safety Tips
Since capsaicin is derived from the chili pepper, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind as you use it on your body. First of all, just like the chili pepper, it can be quite hot – often too hot for some people’s sensitive skin. If you feel your skin might be too sensitive, use a very small dose on a patch of skin near your hand to see what the reaction is.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Where to Buy?
Just like other topical ointments, capsaicin is easy to find in your local drugstore, making it a favorite among those who don’t want to run to their doctor each time they have an ache or a pain.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – How to Use?
To use capsaicin, you will want to take a small amount and rub it into the skin where the pain is situated. Immediately after, you should wash your hands of the cream so that you don’t feel the burning sensation there too. However, if you want to use this cream on your hands for pain or stiffness, you can – just remove it after a half an hour to ensure you’re not transferring the cream to other parts of your body.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Precautions
Getting the cream in your eye, for example, is quite painful and can necessitate a trip to the hospital in rare cases.
Like the other arthritis ointments, capsaicin should only be applied to clean and healthy skin which is free of cuts or open sores. Getting the cream into these types of skin openings will be painful, more painful than the arthritis itself.
That said, one of the perks of capsaicin is that it doesn’t seem to have any known drug interactions. So, you can be taking oral pain medications and still use this cream.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Dosage
However, it is recommended that you limit the application of capsaicin to no more than 4 times a day.
Capsaicin For Arthritis – Some Helpful Tips
Capsaicin is not for instant pain relief. While some people will find they feel better after the burning sensation, long term relief will still take up to 2 weeks to notice. Be patient, however, and you will find the power of chili peppers is quite effective in your fight against arthritis pain.
Over the counter capsaicin comes in a variety of strengths, so make sure to start with the lowest dosage before moving up to a strong dose. Chances are good the lower dose will be all you need.
About This Post