Rheumatoid polyarthritis: symptoms and treatment of medications and folk remedies

Rheumatoid polyarthritis is a chronic inflammatory process that affects mainly small joints in the hands and feet. In contrast to the "wear" of the joints characteristic of osteoarthritis, in this case the damage is of a different nature: only the envelope suffers, the inflammation of which causes severe pain and can lead to bone erosion and joint deformation.

Rheumatoid polyarthritis, whose symptoms and treatment can turn into a real problem, is an autoimmune disease and occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. In addition to the pathology of the joints, this impairment can cause diseases and other organs of the body, including the skin, eyes, lungs and blood vessels.

Although this disease can develop at any age, most often it affects people over forty. The most vulnerable to women.

Given the nature of rheumatoid polyarthritis, treatment (drugs and procedures) is aimed primarily at controlling symptoms and preventing joint damage.

Symptoms

Typical signs of pathology include:

• Swelling and sensitization of the joints (they can also become warm to the touch);
• Morning stiffness, which can last for several hours;
• Presence of solid cones from connective tissue, which can be felt under the skin of the hands (rheumatoid nodules) ;
• Fatigue, fever, unplanned weight loss.

Rheumatoid polyarthritis, the treatment, symptoms and causes of which are identified and approved in the early stages of the disease, most often affects first small joints - usually those that connect the fingers with the hands and feet.

As the pathology progresses, the symptomatology almost always extends to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips and shoulders. In most cases, signs of impairment are manifested in the same joints on both sides (respectively, in the right and left extremities).

Symptoms of the disease often vary in severity and may even subside for a while, then come back again. Periods of intensification of the disease - peculiar outbreaks - alternate with periods of relative remission, when swelling and pain syndrome abate or even completely disappear. Over time, rheumatoid polyarthritis, the symptoms and treatment of which the patient launched, causes deformation and displacement of the joints.

Consult a doctor if you notice that there is a foci of permanent inflammation in the area of the joints, causing you discomfort.

Causes

Rheumatoid polyarthritis develops in the event that the immune system attacks the synovial membrane of the membrane surrounding the joints.

The subsequent inflammatory process thickens the synovial membrane and eventually can lead to the destruction of cartilage and bone.

Tendons and ligaments that hold the joint in place are weakened and stretched. Gradually the joint loses its shape and shifts.

Modern medicine has not yet found out what exactly motivates the immune system to react inadequately to the synovial membrane, but experts suggest that in this aspect a genetic factor is involved. Although the genes themselves do not contain any prerequisites for the development of a pathology such as rheumatoid polyarthritis (symptoms and treatment are fully described in this article), they may contain data on the predisposition to negative environmental effects. This means that the infection of the body with a specific strain of the virus or bacteria can initiate joint pathology.

Risk factors

Circumstances that increase the risk of developing the disease are as follows:

• Floor. In women, rheumatoid polyarthritis is diagnosed more often.
• Age. Although this disorder can occur at any age, in most cases its symptoms appear between forty and sixty years.
• Family history. If a member of your family is diagnosed with rheumatoid polyarthritis, whose symptoms and treatment are approved by a trusted doctor, you are at risk.

Complications

The disease increases the risk of developing the following pathologies:

• Osteoporosis. Rheumatoid polyarthritis - both in itself, and in combination with drug therapy aimed at its treatment - can increase the risk of osteoporosis. This is a condition in which the bones become weaker and thinner, as a result of which even a weak impact can lead to the appearance of a crack.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. If the disease has spread to the wrists, the inflammatory process can squeeze the nerve, on which the functioning of the hand and fingers depends.
• Diseases of the heart. Such a pathology of the joints increases the risk of thickening and blockage of the arteries. In addition, it can lead to inflammation of the bag surrounding the heart.
• Diseases of the lungs. Rheumatoid polyarthritis, symptoms (treatment with folk remedies in this case is hardly effective) which is combined with susceptibility to lung diseases, can cause inflammation of the lower respiratory tract and scar tissue of the lungs. As a result, the patient will suffer from progressive shortness of breath.

Before a visit to a doctor

If you suspect rheumatoid polyarthritis, symptoms, treatment, the causes of the pathology and the prognosis, it is better to discuss with a competent doctor as soon as possible. It is recommended first to make an appointment with a therapist who will, if necessary, redirect you to a rheumatologist, a specialist in the treatment of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. It is the rheumatologist who will evaluate your condition.

Before you go to a medical consultation, make a list that includes the following items:

• A detailed description of the symptoms you are experiencing;
• Information about diseases, injuries and other health problems that you have suffered in the past;
• Data on the state of health and diseases transferred by your parents, brothers and sisters;
• A complete list of medicines, vitamin complexes and biologically active food supplements that you take regularly;
• Questions that you would like to ask the doctor.

What the doctor will say

A specialist may ask you some of the following questions:

• When did you first notice the signs of the disease?
• Have the symptoms of pathology changed over time?
• What joints are aching?
• Do any activities cause deterioration or improvement of your condition?
• Do the symptoms of pathology prevent the fulfillment of your routine, day-to-day duties?
• If the doctor confirms that you have polyarthritis, the symptoms, causes, diet and treatment will be the primary topics for consultation.

Diagnostics

Rheumatoid polyarthritis is difficult to recognize in the early stages, since the primary signs and symptoms of the disease are identical with manifestations of other pathological conditions. At the moment, there is no such blood test or type of physical examination that could unambiguously confirm the assumptions of patients and doctors. However, in the presence of significant discomfort and inflammatory process, it is necessary to begin treatment in time, and therefore specialists do their best to clarify the expected diagnosis.

So, a primary medical examination is performed to check the condition of the joints for the presence of swelling, redness and heat. In addition, with this examination, the doctor checks the reflexes and strength of the muscles.

In some cases, the method of radiography, which allows you to monitor changes in joints over time.

Blood tests

Patients who are diagnosed with rheumatoid polyarthritis (symptoms and folk remedies listed in the text) have an increased rate of ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), which means the presence of an inflammatory process in the body. Other blood tests help identify rheumatoid factor and antibodies to the anti-cyclic citrulline peptide.

Treatment

Although rheumatoid polyarthritis (symptoms, treatment, diagnosis, prevention - all this is still in the stage of study by specialists) is a fairly common violation, today there is no single-valued method for treating this disease. Drug therapy can only reduce inflammation in the joints, relieve pain and prevent or slow down the destruction of tissues.

Medicines

After the discovery of the disease, rheumatoid polyarthritis, the causes, symptoms and treatment features of which should be described in detail by your attending physician, medication is prescribed. Since most of the medicines used in this case cause serious side effects, specialists try to prescribe the least dangerous preparations first. Nevertheless, as the disease progresses, you will still need stronger medications - or a combination of several drugs.

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Some of them are sold in pharmacies according to the rules of OTC. This, for example, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. More effective medicines of this group are given on prescription. Their side effects can manifest themselves in the form of ringing in the ears, gastritis, violations of the heart, damage to the liver and kidneys.
• Steroids. Corticosteroid drugs, such as prednisone, reduce inflammation and pain and slow the damage to the joints. Side effects include bone thinning, weight gain and diabetes. Doctors usually prescribe such medications to remove acute symptoms of the disease and recommend in the future to gradually abandon the adoption of corticosteroids.
• Basic anti-inflammatory drugs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). If you are diagnosed with rheumatoid polyarthritis, treatment (drugs and procedures) can consist of slowing down the process of joint destruction and preventing damage to other tissues. For this purpose, basic anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed, among which the most commonly used are methotrexate, leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine. Side effects include liver damage, suppression of bone marrow function and severe lung infections.

Folk remedies

If you read about the symptoms and treatment of rheumatic polyarthritis in a book or the Internet and for personal reasons do not want to contact a doctor (alas, it happens), try to cope with the ailment with folk remedies - at least they do not cause such serious side effects, As pharmacy medicines.

For the treatment of joints, supporters of alternative medicine apply the oil of evening primrose, black currant and borage seeds, as well as biologically active food additives with a high content of fish oil. All these substances can interact with various medications, so before using them, be sure to find out the opinion of a qualified therapist or rheumatologist.