Sjogrens World Forums

Sjogrens Topics => Living Life In Spite of Sjogren's => Topic started by: ashewoman on June 12, 2012, 03:23:10 PM

Title: delightful
Post by: ashewoman on June 12, 2012, 03:23:10 PM
am typing this with one hand while my paraffin dries on the other.  it is amazing how no matter how much i think i remember enjoying this paraffin treatment by the time i get to di ut again it shocked all over by how great it feels.  now that i have my own home one maybe i wont forget by tomorrow lol  ;D gg
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: Cheryl on June 13, 2012, 03:59:38 AM
Gg,
Maybe you will remember to indulge regularly!  I have never done a parafin treatment, but it does sound luxurious.
Cheryl
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: MissyLouWho? on June 13, 2012, 06:09:26 AM
You got it already?  Yay!  So happy you have that little luxury ;D.  They are awesome! And to have it at your fingertips (hehe I'm so funny,  :P) anytime you want it is heaven.
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: Ohiocat on June 14, 2012, 04:31:33 PM
okay i just don't know about these things.    what is a parafin?
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: MissyLouWho? on June 15, 2012, 04:40:37 AM
It's a warmer (like a crock pot) that you put big chunks of paraffin wax in.  It looks like candle wax but is a little different.  I think maybe it might melt at lower temps so you don't get burned because I could never imagine using candle wax for this! :o  After it melts, you dip your hands in and the hot wax and it soothes your aching joints. 

I never used it for therapy but it sure was fun to make monster hands when we were kids 8)
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: WildThing on June 15, 2012, 09:38:52 AM
Sounds like I need to sit in a bucket of paraffin my tailbone is still sore
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: MissyLouWho? on June 15, 2012, 10:31:04 AM
LOL @ Wildthing!  Hope your tailbone heals soon, such a tender area to hurt!
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: WildThing on June 15, 2012, 10:36:16 AM
Yes it's taking its sweet time to heal  :(
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: ashewoman on June 15, 2012, 11:21:23 AM
Wildthing-- I don't want to alarm you but I broke my tailbone 15 years ago and it still gives me fits.  They say there is a surgery you can get but I had a friend who had it and she said it was actually worse to heal up from it than it was to put up with it.  She wished she'd just left hers alone.  However, she did stop having trouble.  I just can't imagine it after her detailed horror story.  Meanwhile, I baby mine as much as possible. 

Oh I dipped my feet in last night and OMG its so great.  I may not dip them every day because it is messier, but I do love the sensation.  It also feels hotter on my feet.  But my feet do bother me more than my hands.  GG
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: WildThing on June 15, 2012, 12:32:03 PM
You haven't alarmed me I have long suspected I might have broken it.  When I saw the doc about it he said 'they don't do much for broken tailbones these days' so I figured he was asking me to just put up with it.  I'm guessing they probably 'don't do much for broken tailbones' because it does more harm than good...like it did with your friend.

Glad the paraffin is helping it must be a relief to find something that actually works.  Do you get swollen ankles at all?  f so do you find it helps with that?
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: Sooki on June 15, 2012, 12:34:30 PM
What happens to the paraffin when you're done?  Does it go down the drain?  (My septic tank is feeling sensitive these days.)
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: MissyLouWho? on June 15, 2012, 01:12:07 PM
We used to peel it off and put it back in the warmer so we never ran out :P  Wax is very bad for any drain.  I guess you could throw it away?
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: ashewoman on June 15, 2012, 06:02:21 PM
I put it back in the vat which has a cover to keep it clean.  But it is solid when it is cold.  The instructions suggest digging it out carefully every few months and putting in fresh.  I don't recall it specifying what to do with the semi-solid wax... its more like slush than candle wax.  But I'd think the garbage would be best.  You should replenish it no matter how careful you are to keep it clean according to the instructions because the oils from your skin get in as well as other little debris over time and there are certain organisms that can thrive at high temperatures.  The wax refills are not expensive and you can get scented ones.  I will next time. 

I've also heard you can add a few drops of any essential oil that is okay to put directly on your skin for scent and the warming process can make for aromatherapy on top of your skin and joint therapy.   :)  I ordered sweet orange because it is safe and smells clean and soothing to me.  Be sure to double check before you put any essential oil on your skin that it is safe.  They are medicine and you can over do it if you use them without consulting their intended use.
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: eyeamdry on June 18, 2012, 10:37:22 PM
I have a foot-bath warmer and have only used it one time.  Wonder if I could use it for that.  It would warm the parrafin, but I'm not sure hot enough.  I could put clean water in it and see how warm it gets.  It is very clean because the one use didn't dirty it at all.  Lucy
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: sktaylor on June 19, 2012, 04:19:49 AM
I also have a parrafin wax warmer. It was a Christmas gift from my daughter. Best thing ever!! Not only does it help your joints, but also with the terrible dry skin on my hands. I don't know about you, but my fingertips dry out and crack and the hangnails are the worst. I love mine.
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: ashewoman on June 20, 2012, 07:16:57 PM
Oh yes! Sktaylor-- I agree.  It does a great job of moisturizing.  Lasts all day if I do it just once.

Eyeamdry- I don't know if you could do that, but a foot bath with warm water may relieve your pain almost as effectively.  This wax is pretty hot but the main thing is that the paraffin spa has a lid to keep out contaminants and to keep the wax from sloshing out and making a terrible mess.  I would think even if you could use the foot bath it wouldn't be wise to since it doesn't have a lid to do those things.

Wild thing- I'm totally in agreement on the dipping your hiney parts idea now.  I wish I could dip my whole body up to my eyebrows LOL.  But alas, you just can't do that.  Even so the speed with which you'd have to get in and out would be slower with more to move and I don't think I move that quick anymore.  I'd probably scald myself if I had my whole self dipped.  LOL  Makes me really consider one of those spa days though. 
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: irish on June 20, 2012, 09:03:11 PM
My neighbor lady had her tailbone break when she delivered her last baby. She said it took a long time to heal--on its own as surgery wasn't done. It bothered her off and on for a long time.

Not the best bone to fracture, but another really, really bad one to break is the heal. My mil fell off a latter years ago and it was surgery, cast and 6 months out of her life--plus the pain is terrible from what I hear.

So, don't fall on your butt or your heel. Irish ;D
Title: Re: delightful
Post by: Meld256 on June 21, 2012, 12:16:30 AM
Ashewoman,

I'm so glad you're enjoying the wax; I'm like you, if we could just figure out how to warm our whole bodies with this...awwwhhh.  ;)

Irish, Your poor neighbor and the tail bone break while in labor.  Now that's a story to tell her child! 

I know these bones are so hard to heal.  I've not experienced it (thank goodness) but my sister fell and broke her ilium, which is part of the pelvis from what I understand, and she was in horrible pain for months.