Rheumatoid arthritis: causes, first symptoms, diagnosis, modern and alternative treatment, diet

2024 Author: Curtis Blomfield | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 20:44

Today, rheumatoid arthritis is familiar to many people, and the saddest thing is that no one has yet been able to completely cure this disease. There is only an opportunity to maintain the body in a satisfactory condition. There is also an opinion that only the elderly can get this disease, but the fact is that doctors record more and more cases when young people seek help, and sometimes newborn children can be sick.

General characteristics

The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are still not fully understood. Scientists put forward completely different versions, there are those who believe that the disease is inherited, others indicate that, perhaps, the development of arthritis is associated with the reaction of the body. Before talking in detail about the disease, it is worth giving him a small description. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease of the bone and muscle systems, and joint tissues also suffer. It harms the joints and in the later stages becomespolyarthritis, affecting already large joints and, in advanced forms, even organs inside.

Both men and women can be at risk, while age does not play any role at all, most often these are people from 35 to 50. The danger of the disease lies in the fact that it does not manifest itself immediately, it occurs at the initial stage, a slight pain in the joints, and then passes, after a while a person may find the next, more serious stage of arthritis.

Causes of occurrence

The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not fully understood, but there are still several important assumptions doctors have about the occurrence of this insidious disease:

1. Genetic factors play an important role in the occurrence of the disease. For example, we are talking about viruses such as Epstein-Barr, rubella, mycoplasmosis.
2. Oddly enough, but the disease can manifest itself after a person experiences severe stress and hormonal disruptions occur in the body.
3. Scientists identified another reason. It has been observed that people who live in adverse environmental conditions are also exposed to this disease.

Sometimes other causes of rheumatoid arthritis are identified, but these are isolated cases that cannot always be addressed.

Features of rheumatoid arthritis

There are a few facts you need to know about rheumatoid arthritis:

1. This disease is considered an autoimmune disease, which means it leads toinflammation of the joints, small cartilage on the legs and arms is affected.
2. The disease can affect not only adults, but even small children.
3. Doctors still cannot name the exact reasons why this disease begins to develop in the human body.
4. The main danger is that the disease is quite difficult to recognize at an early stage. In the later stages, permanent remissions occur, alternating with frequent attacks.
5. The joints are affected symmetrically: if one hand was affected, then the disease will also affect the second hand.
6. The disease can behave in different ways, for example, sometimes it can develop very quickly, and sometimes slowly.
7. Treatment will be more effective if rheumatoid arthritis has not become chronic.
8. Rarely, but sometimes miracles happen when the disease heals itself.

As you can see, not only the causes of rheumatoid arthritis are unknown to science. Even tracking the development and nature of the disease is quite difficult.

Stages of disease

Specialists distinguish several criteria according to which arthritis was grouped into stages. Consider all four stages of the course of the disease in detail:

1. The first stage is different in that there are initial signs of thinning of the bones, such changes can be seen in the picture. Soft tissues become thicker, but looking at your hand, a person with the naked eye may not notice this at all. It is dangerous when joint spacesbecome narrow, this indicates that the disease begins to progress. This stage of the disease can last an indefinite amount of time, and a person will not notice it at all. In order to be able to add up a complete picture of the disease, ICD rheumatoid arthritis has its own code. This will be discussed below.
2. The second stage includes not only fragility of bones. On it, the disease begins to be localized around the joints and bone erosion occurs. It is dangerous when cartilage tissue is affected, because a person can lose mobility in this area, due to this, the muscles begin to atrophy. A person in the second stage can maintain his ability to work, but everyday and simple things can become a burden for him.
3. The joints in rheumatoid arthritis in the third stage are already clearly affected, and it's hard not to notice in the picture. The muscles around completely atrophy and begin to deform. Joints are limited in movement, so the patient, as a rule, can no longer take care of himself, let alone do any work.
4. The fourth stage is the last stage, when violations become visible even to the naked eye. With x-rays, you can safely diagnose osteoporosis, while the cracks completely grow together, the joint is completely deformed, and the tissues are atrophied. At this stage, a person can no longer perform any actions and is constantly tormented by pain, even if the joints are motionless.

All stages of rheumatoid arthritis in each person can proceed differently, much depends on the individualorganism.

Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms

At the initial stage, a person may not notice that he is sick, but as the disease progresses, he may develop many symptoms that are simply impossible to ignore. At the very beginning of the disease, the patient may notice general fatigue, moral exhaustion, a feeling that something is preventing him from moving freely, sometimes swelling appears in the arms and legs. Further, the signs of rheumatoid arthritis may become more pronounced:

1. When the disease begins to progress, the pain in the joints becomes not only obvious, but also permanent. The pain is aching in nature and increases after minor physical exertion.
2. During sleep, fluid begins to accumulate in the joints, so in the morning when a person gets up, the joints in the legs and arms will be swollen.
3. A sick person begins to lose weight quickly, suffers from frequent headaches, and shortness of breath appears with active movements.
4. Over time, malfunctions in the digestive tract appear, signs of bloating and constipation appear.
5. There are respiratory pathologies.

It is important to recognize the signs of rheumatoid arthritis as early as possible, because in some cases the disease can develop very rapidly, blood circulation is additionally disturbed.

How the diagnosis is made

Diagnosing the disease is not difficult, for this it is worth passing the following tests:

1. First of all, a biochemical analysis is givenblood, special attention is paid to the level of protein and ESR.
2. A prerequisite for diagnosis is a fluoroscopic examination of the cartilage. The stage of its deformation and the overgrowth of soft tissues are being studied.
3. If there is a suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosis should include a urine test to determine the amount of protein and hemoglobin in the patient.
4. A complete analysis of hereditary predisposition is made, all injuries received earlier, as well as infectious and viral diseases are studied.

It should be remembered that a timely diagnosis will help to start timely treatment, which means that serious complications that threaten human life and he alth will be avoided.

Treatment

Since the causes of the disease cannot be identified, all conclusions are made by doctors after a complete diagnosis has been made. Rheumatoid arthritis requires immediate treatment to prevent the development of the disease and its transition to a more serious stage. Basically, all treatment is based on eliminating unpleasant symptoms, stopping the deformation of the joints and maintaining them in the future in this state:

1. Medical treatment is a prerequisite. Drugs for rheumatoid arthritis are prescribed exclusively by a doctor. As a rule, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed, this includes Ibuprofen or Diclofenac. Antirheumatic drugs are used.
2. In the case when such therapy is ineffective, prescribedimmunosuppressive drugs that are modified with proteins that block individual parts of the immune system that cause inflammation. But, unfortunately, this method can cause other serious diseases, as the human immunity is significantly weakened.



3. Modern treatment for rheumatoid arthritis also includes exercise therapy, so yoga or swimming is recommended.
4. Physiotherapy also plays an important role in the restoration of the musculoskeletal system. This includes electrophoresis and magnetotherapy.

When the diagnosis shows that the disease was the result of some kind of infection, then antibiotic therapy is prescribed. While the doctor selects drugs, he pays special attention to the expression of the articular syndrome. You should not expect to be cured in a week, this is not a common cold, but a disease that requires long-term and careful treatment, the implementation of all the recommendations of a specialist, as well as constant examination. If the disease is not detected in time, then this can turn into serious complications that will lead to a complete disability of a person, sometimes even the second stage of the disease prevents a person from living quietly and doing what he has been doing all his life, because of this, depression occurs, diseases begin to manifest heart and respiratory organs.

Treatment with folk remedies

If a person has rheumatoid arthritis, the clinical recommendations of specialists cannot be ignored, but you canhelp yourself additionally and at home, there are a large number of different ways for this:

1. To reduce pain, you can apply warm compresses to the sore spot, they can additionally increase muscle tone.
2. When arthritis manifests itself in an acute form, you can use cold, it is enough to apply it to a sore spot so that unpleasant symptoms subside for a while.
3. It is recommended to take warm baths with decoctions of various herbs, you can use chamomile, which has an anti-inflammatory effect, or a string.
4. An important condition for getting rid of pain in the arms and legs is to improve blood circulation, and for this it is worth doing a massage. For the best effect, it is recommended to use aromatic products, for example, ginger oil is suitable.
5. When rheumatoid arthritis of the fingers is diagnosed, many healers use a special ointment that is prepared on the basis of honey and propolis.
6. If you are not allergic to pepper, then you can make compresses with red pepper and olive oil.
7. According to many patients, hirudotherapy helps them in their treatment. With the help of leeches, you can easily improve blood circulation. If they are applied to sore spots, then swelling and inflammation can be reduced.
8. To cure rheumatoid arthritis, alternative treatment does not exclude the fasting method. With it, you can remove harmful toxins from the body, the deposition of s alts decreases, and puffiness also disappears.
9. It is recommended to drink pineapple juice, it is he who is famous for its anti-inflammatory effect.
10. You can make special carrot or cabbage cocktails.
11. To cleanse the body, it is recommended to drink linseed oil in the amount of two tablespoons a day.

Of course, clinical guidelines are mandatory. In no case can rheumatoid arthritis be treated exclusively by folk methods, since, on the contrary, it can harm the body. It is worth remembering that treatment with folk methods is auxiliary, but not the main one.

Diet for arthritis

In case of illness, it is recommended to follow a special diet so as not to burden an already weakened body once again.

What diet to choose for the patient, the specialist or the attending physician will be able to recommend. First of all, it is worth remembering that many products simply should be excluded from consumption. These are foods that cause allergies, it is undesirable to consume a lot of citrus, eggplant, tomato and even pure cow's milk. It is undesirable to eat a lot of meat, as this also affects the general condition of the patient. The diet for rheumatoid arthritis involves eating a large amount of fish, vegetables and fruits. At the same time, these products can be consumed in unlimited quantities. If you fully follow the diet, then the medicines that were prescribed by the attending physician will be much better absorbed in the body, which means that the treatment will be most effective. In no case should you use spices, canned food and coffee, it is recommended to forget alcohol and smoking forever.

Rheumatoid arthritis diet helps keep fit. The fact is that due to a decrease in physical activity, many patients begin to rapidly gain weight, and a simple and uncomplicated diet helps to regulate it. It is worth taking care that the patient consumes more foods that contain calcium, this will help strengthen bones and joints. There are many opinions of people, and there are those who argue that dieting can be completely useless, but this is far from the case, because bone he alth depends directly on nutrition. Food should be eaten in small doses, salads should be seasoned with linseed oil, and fish varieties should be fatty. Some patients actively practice a raw food diet. A great option to beat rheumatoid arthritis of the hands and feet is this diet option:

1. During the week, you should definitely eat five walnuts a day, or you can replace them with one coconut.
2. Drink as much juice as possible, preferably fresh. An excellent option would be carrot, cabbage and pomegranate juices.
3. In the summer, you need to eat more fresh berries, dark cherries, blackcurrants, raspberries are great.
4. Reduce the consumption of pork and beef, you can alternate chicken and fish, while choosing fish not from the river, but from the sea, with a high fat content.
5. Among cereals, buckwheat and rice porridge would be an excellent option, it is recommended to bake potatoes or boil them.
6. Pasta and bakery productsit is desirable to exclude, and use black or gray bread.
7. It is recommended to drink kefir, fermented baked milk and eat cottage cheese.

Each patient can create a proper diet from the proposed products and make it much easier for his body to fight such a serious disease as rheumatoid arthritis.

Prevention

Rheumatoid arthritis (according to the ICD the disease code is M06) can be stopped, and it is even easier to prevent it altogether, while it is enough to follow a few simple recommendations:

1. First of all, you should eat right, this will reduce the risk of illness.
2. It is impossible to exclude hardening from early childhood: it significantly strengthens the body and strengthens its immune system, so it effectively fights infections.
3. An active and proper lifestyle is 50% of a person's success, it is enough to do a few simple physical exercises recommended by a specialist every morning.
4. Do not abuse alcohol and do not smoke, and take medications only as prescribed by a doctor.
5. Do not take viral and infectious diseases lightly, treating them with antipyretics.

Such simple at first glance rules will not only help a person never know what rheumatoid arthritis is, but also help in the fight against other serious diseases.