The Chronically Concurring Psoriatic Arthritis

One may have the idea that arthritis is inconsequential connoting it with mere joint aches and pains. There are well over 100 rheumatoid and joint-related diseases within the scope of arthritis , each varying in the nature of their causes, the manifestation of the symptoms and the treatment measures required. There are mild cases of arthritis capable of being relived by pain killers, but just when one thinks they have seen it all, they may think otherwise once the facts about psoriatic arthritis have been laid before them. Psoriasis as a skin condition affects 2% of the total population and among this percentage, 10% may develop psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis is generally a part of the skin disease’s course. When left untreated, psoriatic arthritis can degenerate and can lead to joint destruction. As in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis is said to be instigated by an autoimmune disorder. By autoimmune disorder, it means that the immune system has deflected and turned against itself. The antibodies or the white blood cells within the system which supposedly fight and ward off foreign elements attack the body’s own tissues instead. An autoimmune disease generally results in widespread inflammation and destruction and psoriatic arthritis can be one of its manifestations.

There are those who claim that psoriatic arthritis can be acquired through a genetic instability as well, and there are those who suspect that psoriatic arthritis can be viral in nature, too. After contracting streptococcal infection, experts cited that one may have the tendency to develop psoriatic arthritis. Data obtained does not only indicate genetic and environmental elements as attributing factors to the condition. Exposure to bugs is a suspected culprit as well. This condition can affect any joint in the body but it has a greater likelihood to manifest in the larger joints of the arms and the feet including the smaller joints in the finger.

Symptoms of the disease are sausage-like swelling of the fingers and the pitting and discoloration of the fingernails. As the manifestations of psoriatic arthritis are remitting and relapsing, treatment measures are usually symptomatic as opposed to rheumatoid arthritis wherein regular treatment measures are required. The cropping up of psoriatic arthritis symptoms tend to be periodical. They can be severe at one point and then eventually subside and may occur in varying intensities. Hence, the symptoms come and go and in some cases, psoriatic arthritis can cause considerable pain and discomfort. Flexibility and movement are likewise affected as there are times when psoriatic arthritis can spread up to the spine.

Both men and women have equal chances of developing the condition with the onset of symptoms prevalent during the ages of 30 to the 50’s. Diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis is based on identification of the disease’s typical features such as swollen and painful joints. Through blood tests, this type of arthritis can also be ascertained, for instance, through the indications of elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, increased uric acid and mild anemia. As this joint disease is recurrent, treatment measures are only implemented once the symptoms manifest. Once the symptoms subside on the other hand, interventions are usually ceased. Symptomatic treatment of psoriatic arthritis includes the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well as natural painkillers that can be effective.

Surgical procedures are often the last recourse to aid in the replacement of badly damaged joints.