DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a professional saxophonist. Music is both my vocation and my avocation so you can understand how disturbed I am by the onset of osteoarthritis in my hands. I’ve been advised to use hot paraffin baths to ward off this condition; however, no one seems able to tell me for how long or how often. The arthritis is clearly getting worse. It now affects more of my fingers and a wider area than before.
Can you please advise specifically how to use the paraffin bath and any other preventive measures of which you are aware? By the way, I am a male, 66 years old, in excellent health. I exercise every day and eat sensibly.
DEAR READER: Paraffin works to soothe dry skin and painful joints by warming and hydrating the outside surface of your body. The wax is meant for external purposes only. It is flammable, with a flash point of approximately 350 degrees F. Its high heat capacity allows that heat to open pores and increase circulation in the skin.
The frequency of use varies from person to person. Because the paraffin is topical and never ingested, it can essentially be used morning and night to provide relief from pain such as you experience with your osteoarthritis. Any questions regarding the frequency of use for this therapy should be addressed to your primary care physician or physical therapist but to the best of my knowledge, there are no unwanted side effects known regarding over-use. If you choose to consider this treatment, I recommend you try it once or twice daily. Experiment. If you can expend the time, do so.
There are a number of “baths” available commercially, each with slightly differing features. Over all, treatments are considered safe and sanitary when performed according to manufacturer’s guidelines for use. The paraffin is generally maintained at 130 degrees F in a commercial unit, remaining at a constant temperature for repeated use.
Paraffin can often be found in grocery or hardware stores because it is commonly used for candle making and for sealing jelly and jam jars (even though more modern sealable tops are on the market for canning purposes. To give you an idea of usage, the one pound box on a grocery or hardware store shelf will provide approximately five manicures or pedicures, assuming you dip both hands or both feet three times per treatment.
For those who may not be knowledgeable regarding this process, the hands or feet, whichever area is to be treated, should be thoroughly washed and dried. Any jewelry should be removed. The skin should be sprayed with a sanitizing, non-greasy spray, before the hands or feet are immersed into the paraffin and then withdrawn. Wait several seconds to allow the layer(s) to partially dry. Repeat five times, taking care not to bend the fingers or toes and break the glove-or-sock-like covering created. Believe it or not, 15 dips are recommended for chronic, arthritic pain. Allow the heat from the wax to penetrate into the painful joints or dry, cracked hands and feet for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the heat penetration ceases, peel the paraffin off and discard it. What remains in your unit can continue to be used but what is peeled off should not be.
Having spoken as though I have personal knowledge of paraffin therapy, I must now admit I have never used it, nor can I attest to its success. If other readers out there have had positive (or negative) experiences, I would be glad to learn more.
Osteoarthritis doesn’t have a cure but there are some non-traditional methods that might work for control. So, while you’re considering purchasing a paraffin wax treatment unit, try rubbing warming Castiva or castor oil onto those painful fingers, adding raw pumpkin seeds to your daily diet, or drinking 100% purple grape juice with liquid pectin three times a day. Whatever you do, find a means of reducing your pain so you can continue to play the sax.
Readers who would like related information can order my Health Reports “Compelling Home Remedies” and “Osteoarthritis” by sending a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 (for each report) in the form of a US check or money order to my attention at PO Box 433, Lakeville, CT 06039. Be sure to mention the title when writing or print out an order form from my website www.AskDrGottMD.com.
