10 frequently asked questions about Rheumatoid Arthritis

From d1softballnews.com

Early on, rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect the smaller joints first, especially those that connect the fingers to the hands and the toes to the feet.

It is the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis that can also damage other parts of the body.

When a patient is diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) it is natural for them to feel concerned, for that reason it is important to ask their rheumatologist.

However, here we share some of the answers to the most frequently asked questions.

1. What is Rheumatoid arthritis? It is an inflammatory condition of the synovium and the membranes that surround the joint. It is the inflammation that causes the symptoms of swelling, increased temperature and pain. In addition, it can cause stiffness, anaemia, tiredness and affects other organs.

2. What causes the disease? We don’t know, but we do know that environmental and genetic factors are important. There are genetic factors that together with environmental factors, bacteria, viruses can trigger the development of RA.

3. Is this condition hereditary? Rheumatic diseases in general they are caused by the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Although there are studies that show that identical twins are more likely to develop RA if one of them has it; however, in the general population, the interaction of multiple factors is necessary. It means that if you have RA, your children are not necessarily going to have it.

4. Can RA be cured? RA is an incurable disease, but with the treatments we have today we can control the symptoms and signs of the disease. We can’t cure it because we don’t know what causes it.

5. What can I do to improve my condition? It is recommended that you get good rest, eight hours of sleep at night, a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Exercise should include: stretching, strengthening, and aerobic exercises. Aquatic exercises are also very helpful.

6. What is the most recommended diet to follow? There is no particular diet that has strong scientific evidence. However, in recent years it has been found that a low-gluten diet improves the inflammatory process.

7. Can I continue working with AR? The answer to this question is a bit complex and must be individualized, according to the patient, the severity of the condition and the type of work they do. In general terms I have to say that at the beginning of the disease it is a little more difficult to work because of morning stiffness, swelling, pain and tiredness. But as your treatment progresses and your disease improves, you may be able to stay at your job, although in some cases, small changes may be necessary.

8. What type of medications are used to treat the condition? The treatment plan is individualized according to the condition of each patient. Treatment is usually started immediately after the diagnosis is made. Medications range from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS, steroids, or cortisone as they are usually known). Biological agents (etananercept, infliximab, adalimumab, anakinra, abatacept, golimumab etc.) are also used. The medication your doctor chooses for you depends on the stage of the disease, your general health, lifestyle, health insurance, and use of other medications that may interfere.

9. How long should I use the medications? The use of medications is variable, but in general terms they are medications that are going to be used for life. Yes, we can have episodes in which we can change the doses or frequency of medications, but removing them completely is unlikely.

10. Can I get pregnant with the condition? Rheumatoid arthritis does not affect fertility or the chances of getting pregnant. In fact, the disease usually improves during pregnancy, but it can have an exacerbation in the first three months postpartum. However, the pregnancy should be planned and discussed with the obstetrician and rheumatologist to be sure that the medications you are using do not affect the baby. Remember that in these cases we ensure both the well-being of the mother as well as the baby.

https://d1softballnews.com/10-frequently-asked-questions-about-rheumatoid-arthritis/ 

Understanding Arthritis: 8 Common Questions Explained

From health.clevelandclinic.org

The term arthritis refers to inflammation in the body’s joints, such as the knees, wrists, ankles and hips. But arthritis isn’t just one thing.

It’s actually an umbrella term for more than 100 conditions that cause pain, stiffness or swelling in the joints. Different types of arthritis have different symptoms and treatments.

Rheumatologist Adam Brown, MD, fields common questions and misconceptions about arthritis.

Q: How does arthritis work?

A: There are multiple types of arthritis. By far, the most common is what we call wear-and-tear arthritis, or osteoarthritis. If you’re old enough, you probably have some degree of osteoarthritis somewhere in your body — at the base of your thumbs, the tips of your fingers, your hips or your knees.
Then, there’s a much rarer category, which is autoimmune or inflammatory arthritis, where the immune system actually attacks your joints.

The immune system is normally built to fight off bacteria and viruses trying to cause infections, but for reasons that aren’t very clear, sometimes it gets confused and attacks your joints.

That’s when you get red, swollen, painful joints, like what you see in rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis.

Then there’s another category called crystalline arthritis. The most common version of that is gout. Gout has been around for a long time and most commonly affects the big toe. People wake up and have a severely swollen and painful toe. Then it just spontaneously goes away in the majority of cases.

Q: How does arthritis affect the body?

A: Osteoarthritis primarily affects the joints, but autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, are multi-systemic. That means they involve not just the joints but many parts of your body. For example, lupus can involve the lungs and the kidneys.

Q: Are women more susceptible to arthritis?

A: For reasons that aren’t very clear, women have a higher tendency to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In contrast, crystalline disease like gout seems to be a little bit more common in males.

Q: Arthritis happens to older adults, right?

A: The longer you live, the more wear and tear your joints are going to have. So the majority of people have some degree of osteoarthritis the older they get. But autoimmune conditions can happen at any age. You can have young children with types of inflammatory autoimmune conditions that cause arthritis.

Q: Does weather affect arthritis?

A: Weather can absolutely make a difference on different types of arthritis. Patients tell me, for example, that when the temperature goes from 30 degrees to 60 degrees in a day, it can make them ache.
But once the weather is stabilized, the joint aches a little bit less. It’s probably pressure related — the pressure in the atmosphere that changes with weather can affect the pressure in your joints.

Q: Is arthritis hereditary?

A: There looks to be some genetic component to it, but just because your mom and dad had osteoarthritis does not mean you’re going to get it.

Q: Can arthritis be cured?

A: For osteoarthritis, we have lots of things that can hopefully help keep you moving and living as normal of a life as possible, starting with physical therapy, over-the-counter medications or creams, prescription medications and cortisone injections.

Some people end up having surgery to replace the painful joint. That’s “curative” because you get rid of the joint and put hardware in there to take the place of the joint.

Autoimmune arthritis is a very different approach than osteoarthritis because the problem is that the immune system is overactive. It’s attacking various parts of your body — in particular, your joints. But we have medications that can make a profound difference in people’s lives, and hopefully with minimal side effects.

One of the goals of therapy is to suppress or lessen the immune system, which sounds scary, but we’re doing that because it’s overactive. Using those medications could potentially mean you get an infection like a cold or pneumonia or urinary tract infection, but most people live a normal life and do well without major infections.
In contrast to that, we have crystalline disease like gout, which is a condition where your blood level of uric acid is elevated. There are ways to control the uric acid which include eating less meat and drinking less alcohol, and there’s a whole laundry list of other things to avoid if you have severe gout. There are also a handful of medications aimed at reducing uric acid.

Q: Is heat or cold best for arthritis pain?

A: Warmth brings about inflammation. If you put a hot pack on your hand, it’s gets a little bit red, right? That’s usually inflammatory cells coming to the surface. It makes sense to use cold to decrease inflammation, but in reality, I’ve had patients swear by putting something warm on their joints and having them feel better. The answer is, do what makes it feel better.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/understanding-arthritis-8-common-questions-explained/