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Arthritis Information
Gathering correct arthritis information will help patients deal with pain and limitation much better.
Here are some arthritis information that every patient and their families should understand.
Arthritis is an inflammation that affects the joints. The joints are part of the body to which the bones meet like the knee and the elbows. Without proeper treatment and lifestyle change, arthritis can later deform the affected joints and affects the movement of the person.
Aside from affecting the joints, this chronic disease can also later affect other parts of the body like eyes and the skin. This disease is known to affect not just the elderly but anyone can have this disease even at young age.
All kinds of arthritis is characterize with pain but other symptoms that will help your doctor diagnose arthritis are the presence of the following:
Swelling
Stiffness in the morning
Your movement is affected as you use your joints
If you feel all these symptoms for over two weeks, you have to consider checking with your doctor to diagnose arthritis and to rule out other health related problems.
Arthritis is not a single disease, there are more than one hundred types of arthritis. The most common types of arthritis are:
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Septic arthritis
Still's disease
Juvenile arthritis
Gout
Ankylosing spondylitis
Arthritis can also be a secondary symptom to other diseases like:
Lupus
Henoch-Sch�nlein purpura
Haemochromatosis
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Wegener's granulomatosis
Lyme disease
Familial Mediterranean fever
Ulcerative colitis
Crohn's disease
Hepatitis
Treatment for arthritis
Arthritis is a common reason of sick leave and absences in work and in school. In ostheoarthritis alone, there are over twenty million people in United States who are living with ostheoarthritis. Ostheoarthritis is related to old age but it can also be a result from obesity and sports injury.
The treatment for arthritis varies depending on the kind of arthritis and it varies from the severity of pain the patient feels. But the treatment available in the market is only used to give relief, treat symptoms and halt the prognosis of the disease but it is not designed to cure the arthtritis itself because at present there is really no known cure for arthritis.
Though there is no specific cure for arthritis, early diagnosis is important to give the patients as well as their families the proper medications that can help the patients manage their pain and to control or stop the deformity as well as disability of the affected joints.
Doctors may choose between conservative or aggressive way of treatment. Depending on various factors, your doctor will decide which type of treatment is accurate for you.
Medicines included in the conservative treatment plan may include:
Tylenol
Aspirin
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Meanwhile, the aggressive plan of treatment is given for those patients whose joint pain is severe and affects their mobility. The medicines included in the aggressive plan pf treatmetn are:
1. Disease-Modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or known as DMARDS. Samples of these drugs are:
methotrexate
Arava
2. TNF blockers or biologics – Samples of these drugs include:
Enbrel
Remicade
Humira
At present, more advance research and testing are being done to find the mos appropriate treatment for arthritis.
Aside from medicines, other therapy may also be included like physical therapy, complimentary treatments and surgery can also be a good alternative for those chronic arthritis sufferers.
