It would be so good if people knew no diseases! They would be able to work better, entertain themselves more often, and live richer life then. Unfortunately, reality is different: besides the problems we are faced with every day, we have to constantly fight with multiple health disorders, targeting our weak and imperfect bodies.
There is hardly a person in the world able to honestly claim himself healthy. Those, who experience chronic and incurable conditions, living in a constant struggle with them, deserve to be honored like heroes. Moreover, millions of people suffer from more than one life-long disease. Actually, it is not rare that one disorder is accompanied with the other. The vivid example of this fact is psoriatic arthritis.
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease, when a person has both psoriasis (a skin condition, characterized by scaly patches of partially shed dead skin cells) and arthritis (inflammation of the joints). People usually experience psoriasis previous to the development of arthritis. However, there is a paradox here (but cest la vie as French people say): on one hand, statistical data confirms that the severer psoriasis symptoms a person experiences, the greater risk of acquiring psoriatic arthritis such patient has; on the other hand, a great number of psoriatic arthritis sufferers (30%) notice no symptoms of psoriasis on their skin.
Psoriatic arthritis strikes most often men and women (equally), when they are 35-45 years old. People with nail psoriasis or different nail abnormalities are at the greater risk of acquiring psoriatic arthritis (80% of patients with this disease have problems with their nails).
Children may also suffer from psoriatic arthritis, but in 52 % of all cases they tend to experience arthritis before noticing psoriasis signs.
Psoriatic arthritis usually targets smaller joints, as fingers, toes, wrists, hands, ankles, feet; but bigger ones (spine, hips or knees joints) may also become affected with this disease.
This complex condition is autoimmune in origin. It means that it occurs due to the mistaken activity of the immune system, which strikes body's own tissues. For the time being, the exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is not known. Scientists suggest that heredity in combination with certain environmental factors provokes its development. At least 40 % of psoriatic arthritis sufferers have relatives with this condition.
The symptoms of the disease include those specific to psoriasis (raised, dry, scaly, silver patches of skin) and peculiar to arthritis (stiff, painful, inflamed, and swollen joints and tendons, as well as deformed nails). Symptoms may occur on one or both sides of the body, ranging from mild to severe. In some cases psoriatic arthritis mutilans the most dangerous type of the disease - develops, destroying joints and bones and leaving a person practically disabled.
Taking into account the complexity of the disorder, its management, consequently, includes using several methods at a time. Some of them aim in relieving arthritis. Its pain can be controlled with the help of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS); salicylates; disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) in more severe cases; particularly painful joints may be treated with steroid medications.
Psoriatic lesions are eliminated either with the use of topical remedies (corticosteroids, retinoids, vitamin D-3 derivatives, etc.), ultraviolet light therapy, or pills. Sometimes phototherapy is used in combination with oral drugs.
Relaxation methods, applying heat and cold, avoiding psoriatic triggers and mechanical joins damage can help people cope with this disease at home. One more important tip on how to avoid aggravation of the disorder symptoms is to stay away from stress. Be strong, no matter what it takes.
Ivanna
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