WD-40

After getting a little fed up with all the talk about missing Madeleine in the news, I decided to go looking for something a bit more light-hearted. As usual this comes from the Barbados Nation News:

Jamaicans using WD-40 for Arthritis Pains

KINGSTON – If you have an annoying, squeaking door hinge or a corroded screw to loosen you'd probably reach for a can of WD-40. But what about a painful, squeaking knee or creaky elbow?
The Sunday Observer has learned that WD-40, better known for releasing rusted screws and lubricating corroded metal, is increasingly being used by Jamaicans to relieve arthritis and joint pains.
Some people are still willing to look past the warnings of possible irritation to the skin.
When the manufacturers said on a WD-40 tin that it could loosen rusty parts, stop squeaks and free sticky mechanisms, they meant metal – not knees and elbows. But the slick substance appears to be working for human parts as well.
"I suffered from arthritis pain, sometimes my knees just couldn't move. I've been using Voltaren, but it hasn't been helping, so I went on the Internet to seek a home remedy," one middle-aged woman who requested anonymity told the Sunday Observer last Friday. "That's when I saw it (the suggested 'remedy')."
The arthritis sufferer said she sprayed the metal lubricant on her knees, and within minutes the pain had stopped and she was able to walk unhindered.