Medicinal cannabis: what you need to know
There is a lot of interest in the use of cannabis as a medicine. You, or someone you know, may be considering using medicinal cannabis and have questions about medicinal cannabis products, such as: How and in what situations can they be used? Is medicinal cannabis legal? Where can it be accessed? Key points Medicinal cannabis products are treated and regulated as medicines in Australia. There is some evidence to support the use of medicinal cannabis in conditions such as multiple...
Stakeholder Survey 2020 Results
Thanks to our community who participated in our 2020 Stakeholder Survey - we were delighted with the more than 530 responses. We would like to share the following responses with you, simply click here or on the image to see the following results. Types of arthritis you have Treatments that were recommended to you after diagnosis Most effective therapies through your arthritis journey How you are connected with us Type of content you would like to see in the future Why you donate to Arthritis...
Medication Update
1 June 2020 Opioid Regulatory Changes To minimise the harm caused by opioid prescription medicines to Australians each year, a number of regulatory changes are being implemented. The changes will ensure the safe and effective prescribing and use of opioids while maintaining access for patients who need them. Why the changes are being made Over the past decade, Australians have experienced a significant increase in the level of harm and deaths arising from the use of...
NEW Website for Rheumatoid Arthritis – MyRA
Arthritis Australia, in partnership with the Australian Rheumatology Association, has launched a new online rheumatoid arthritis patient-support website. The free MyRA website provides individually tailored information designed to help people seize control and become active participants in their journey with the disease. More than 450,000 Australians live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease that causes pain and swelling of the joints. The disease can strike at any age,...
Living Virtually – free online resources
Whilst we are house-bound, we could certainly all do with some things to keep us stimulated. We've compiled a list of free resources available online - zoom/Skype, performing arts, travel, galleries, cooking, animals, libraries and more. Enjoy and share it with your friends and family. Remember to also move - go for a walk, do some gardening and get some lovely sunshine on your face! Connecting with your family & friends Zoom: video tutorials on how to use it. Skype:...
Managing Hand & Wrist Arthritis
How are hands affected by arthritis? Any joint in your fingers, thumbs, knuckles and wrists can be affected by arthritis. Many different types of arthritis can affect your hands and cause joint pain, swelling and stiffness, e.g. osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Just because you have arthritis in one finger does not mean you will spread to all your fingers and wrist, however, if you have RA, it is likely to affect more than one joint in the hand and it often bilateral. People...
World Young Rheumatic Diseases Day
WORD Day is an international day has been created to raise awareness and knowledge to help in early diagnoses of young rheumatic diseases. Early intervention changes lives, so this WORD Day, we are sharing diagnosis stories from our juvenile arthritis community. Thank you to Archie, Megan and their families, for sharing their stories below. Archie, 7 years old It all started subtly with some aches, pains and tiredness, normal for a 3 year old boy that rarely sat still and had recently...
Taking Control of your Psoriatic Arthritis
What is psoriatic arthritis? Psoriatic arthritis is a condition that causes inflammation of the joints. This causes the joints to become painful, stiff and often swollen. Around one in ten people who have a skin disease called psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis. Sometimes the arthritis appears before or at the same time as the psoriasis, but for most people the joint problems occur after the skin condition. While psoriatic arthritis tends to affect different people in different ways, early...
Best & Worst Packaging 2019
Each year Arthritis Australia runs a campaign to determine the best and worst packaging as voted by people living with arthritis. According to their research, 44 per cent of consumers struggle with packaging every day, negatively impacting their emotional wellbeing and sense of independence. Hard-to-open packaging can also increase the risk of injury to consumers and 92 per cent of consumers report damaging or spilling a product when trying to open it. Here are the results of your votes for...