Even if the increasing summer heat is even harder for you to deal with due to neuropathy, there are some smart methods of avoiding making your neuropathic pain worse. A lot of it involves diet, exercise, and making sure you’re not in the wrong place for your body to have a bad time. Fortunately for you, no one knows your body like you do, so planning to keep your body in the least amount of pain should be a cinch.
With summer heat comes summer get-togethers, barbecues, and other events where delicious grilled food tempts us at every corner. A good general guide, especially with all of these choices, is to think about the kinds of food that genuinely make you feel better, and stick with those food groups. Gluten and products high in sugar, and bread and dairy can cause neuropathy to flare up, so it’s usually best to avoid those.
Self-care can mean anything that allows you to rest and feel better, especially if all of the new activity allowed by the summer causes your neuropathic pain to get worse. Resting is always key, especially if you find yourself experiencing dizziness, needles or pins, or pressure in your feet. You should also make sure to take care of the pained parts of your body. Icing can help decrease neuroplasticity and inflammation, and will also help alleviate pressure, itching, numbness, and needles or pins pain.
If you know you’re headed to certain events where heat or standing too long in that heat might be a possibility, plan to wear clothing that will reduce the possibility of a flare-up. Wear shoes that breathe and have proper arch support, especially if you’re headed somewhere like a theme park. Wear clothes that are cool, and protect your eyes and head from exposure with sunglasses and a hat. Try and plan to find the least-exposed parts of where you’re headed, so you can find those in advance.
The key for anyone during the summer months is to stay hydrated. You might be tempted to a number of summer drinks, but whatever you do, make sure you’re actually drinking plenty of actual water. This will help avoid inflammation and will also help you avoid other ill health effects that come from too much exposure to the sun.
Exercise – however much actually works for you and is recommended by your doctor – is always good for helping with your pain. Still, you should try and limit your exercise to cool hours in the morning or evening, to avoid feeling the worst effects on your body that the sun has to offer.
Even if neuropathic pain is unavoidable, there are always methods for ameliorating the worst of it and avoiding the worst types of pain altogether. You deserve the opportunity to enjoy yourself as much as possible, so staying prepared is the best method for allowing that to happen.
