Reiter's syndrome is a rheumatic disease. It affects the joints, mucous membranes of the eyes, as well as the urogenital tract. Accordingly, a person develops prostatitis, conjunctivitis, urethritis and some other diseases. They can appear sequentially or simultaneously.
This disease occurs due to problems with the immune system, provoked by an intestinal or genitourinary pathogen. During the diagnosis, it is necessary to check for changes in the blood, as well as to establish a connection with a previous infection. Treatment is best with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Such a disease can often recur, and it can also become chronic.
Description of disease
Reiter's syndrome in 80% of cases affects men from 20 to 40 years old. Women suffer from such a disease much less often, children are practically not affected. The causative agent is chlamydia. This microorganism can parasitize in the host for quite a long time. Described diseasedevelops sometimes after the postponed colitis. Some other infections also provoke it. With a genetic predisposition, this pathology may occur in some patients.
The disease is divided into several stages in its course. We are talking about infectious and immunopathological. The first is characterized by the fact that the pathogen is located in the genitourinary tract. The second stage indicates that a person has begun to have damage to the conjunctiva and joints.
Classification of pathology
Currently, there are two forms of Reiter's syndrome. We are talking about sporadic and epidemic. The first develops after a person has been diagnosed with a genitourinary infection. Epidemic, on the other hand, can occur for various reasons, as a rule, they have a salmonella, dysentery, and so on nature.
In the course of the disease, it can be acute, that is, last no more than six months, protracted, lasting up to a year, and also chronic. The latter is a disease that recurs for more than one year.
Genito-related symptoms
When diagnosing Reiter's syndrome, it is very important to notice problems in the genitourinary system. They are the first signals. Cystitis, urethritis, prostatitis and so on develop. Men have pain in the lower abdomen, frequent urination, pain, burning or itching during emptying of the bladder. In women, there are unpleasant vaginal discharge, pain when urinating, as well as discomfort in the lower abdomen. ATsmears and urine may show leukocytosis.
As you can see, both women and men have similar symptoms of this disease. If one of the manifestations occurs, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to cure the disease in time.
Vision related symptoms
Already some time after the appearance of problems with the genitourinary tract, a person's eyes become inflamed. This is also one of the symptoms of Reiter's syndrome. After a while, this leads to the development of conjunctivitis, it can also cause neuritis, keratitis, and so on. Tearing can increase, vision is impaired, redness, photophobia appear, and pus and pain may also be present. Sometimes it happens that visual manifestations are observed for only a few days, and then become dull.
Joint related symptoms
One of the main symptoms of Reiter's syndrome is a problem with the joints. It occurs one and a half to two months after the initial manifestations. At first, only one or two joints become inflamed, but after a while polyarthritis develops. Most often, the joints of the legs are considered problematic, inflammation spreads from the bottom up. That is, the ankle joint is affected first, then the knee joint, and so on. There may be pain, asymmetry of inflammation, discoloration of the skin, as well as swelling in the area of inflammation. Sometimes the spinal column can be affected. Therefore, a person has discomfort in the morning.
If we are talking about damage to the joints of the foot, then flat feet develop. According to statistics, in half of patients, such manifestations completely disappear with proper treatment, 30% recur, and 20% develop chronic arthritis.
Other manifestations
Sometimes there is a non-standard course of Reiter's syndrome. This suggests that other organs may also be affected. Red spots appear on the skin, which may resemble bumps. As a rule, such manifestations concern the palms and soles. Over time, peeling and keratinization of the skin may occur. In some patients, the mucous membranes of the mouth and genitals are affected. Note that arthritis is the main symptom, so inflammation in the tendons and ligaments may occur. Accordingly, a person will experience discomfort, redness and swelling. In very rare cases, the syndrome can lead to kidney, lung, and heart problems.
Diagnostic Methods
Before starting the treatment of Reiter's syndrome, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis in order to understand what kind of therapy should be prescribed. First of all, the doctor pays attention to the patient's complaints, especially if he has recently had a genitourinary or intestinal infection.
In order to confirm the diagnosis from a medical point of view, it is necessary to do laboratory tests. It is necessary to donate blood in order to identify the presence of chlamydia, the same pathogen can be found in the mucous membrane of the eye, in the urethra or vagina, in the joint fluid. Next, you need to doblood chemistry to test for rheumatoid factor. If we are talking about the destruction of the joints, then X-ray, MRI and CT are prescribed.
Therapy
Having found out the causes of Reiter's syndrome, it is necessary to start treatment. Therapy in total can last from 3 to 12 months. It aims to stop inflammation, reduce autoimmune reactions and eliminate infection.
When it comes to the development of chlamydia, the doctor prescribes antibiotics in maximum doses. In order to avoid re-infection, it is recommended to prescribe this drug to a sexual partner. Antibiotics need to be drunk for quite a long time, the minimum period is 3 weeks, the maximum is 8 weeks. This can lead to the development of candidiasis or to problems with digestion. In order for such consequences not to disturb, it is necessary to drink special multivitamin complexes, hepatoprotectors and antimycotic drugs. Thanks to them, the effect on the body of antibiotics will be reduced to a minimum. It is also advisable to take proteolytic enzymes in order to increase the effectiveness of therapy.
If a person has severe inflammation of the eyes, it is necessary to drink antibacterial agents, as well as use drops or ointments. The latter should be based on tetracycline. You can use folk remedies in the form of tinctures of medicinal herbs. In order to relieve inflammation of the eyes, you should use chamomile and calendula.
To eliminate joint problems, to cure arthritis, it is necessaryuse anti-inflammatory drugs. Either glucocorticoids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. Both groups of drugs can reduce pain, in the presence of temperature - knock it down, as well as relieve swelling. Many patients write positive reviews about this therapy.
Reiter's syndrome can also be manifested by fever or intoxication. In this case, the patient is prescribed special means that allow not only to alleviate the patient's condition, but also to increase the effectiveness of other drugs used. Some patients, after stopping the inflammatory process, are prescribed physiotherapy in the form of physiotherapy exercises, electrophoresis, magnetic therapy.
Immune System Therapy
Syndrome also implies the use of drugs during therapy that affect the response of the immune system. As a rule, its processes lead to the fact that the connective tissue is completely destroyed. These medicines are used for a long time. The minimum term is 4 months. If we are talking about a severe form of the disease, then the patient will most likely have to drink drugs all his life. Such funds can lead to a passive state of the immune system, it becomes weak, respectively, the human body can easily succumb to infection. That is why you need to drink immunomodulators in parallel. In order to increase the work of the protective function, you can use ultraviolet blood irradiation.
Additional methods
Since sun exposure provokes the development of Reiter's syndrome,multiple complications may occur. In the absence of correct and adequate treatment, this disease will subsequently require more severe therapy than described above. In the later stages of the syndrome, the development of HIV infection can be observed, so it is imperative to take tests for its presence. After a negative result, cytostatics are prescribed.
Some patients are advised to take a course of hormones. Sometimes depression can develop against the background of this disease, which leads to fear. Often at this stage, patients do not believe what the doctor tells them, so it is best to prescribe antidepressants that will allow the person to return to normal.
The first 3 months of illness, any patient should spend under the supervision of doctors. Tests should be taken every two weeks to check the effectiveness of the treatment. Once a month, you will have to take tests after the end of treatment. If six months (or earlier) after the relief of the disease, prostatitis develops, as well as stiffness in the area of \u200b\u200bthe joints, then you will have to be re-hospitalized, as this is considered a relapse.
Folk treatment
In the treatment of Reiter's syndrome, it is extremely important to follow the recommendations. After a preliminary consultation with a doctor, traditional medicine can be used. Consider the most popular and effective methods:
- Decoction of aspen will help to remove the inflammatory process. Her bark has a good effect. It is necessary to pour a little bark (1 tablespoon) with a glass of water, cook in a water bath for about a quarter of an hour. The decoction should be infused for at least 45 minutes. It can be mixed with tea, it is allowed to drink in its pure form. However, you should not consume more than 3 times a day.
- A decoction of oat straw can give a similar anti-inflammatory effect. It is necessary to take 200 g of raw materials, pour water and cook in a saucepan for half an hour. It should be borne in mind that the liquid should be enough for a comfortable bath (about 5 liters). After the decoction has cooled down, it is necessary to immerse the legs or hands in water, depending on which joints were affected.
- You can use decoctions of dandelions and primrose. They should be taken orally. In order to cook, you need to use a tablespoon of dry grass, filled with boiling water (200 ml). You can drink after an hour, as the broth is infused. The serving should be divided into four times and taken throughout the day.
Forecast
In order to diagnose Reiter's syndrome in time, tests must be taken regularly. As a rule, if therapy is started on time, the prognosis will be favorable. Most often, in patients, the disease goes into stable remission, but this does not exclude the possibility of a relapse. In less than half of the patients, this disease becomes chronic, which can lead to flat feet, muscle atrophy, and so on. For prevention, it is necessary to prevent intestinal and urogenital infections, as well as to treat emerging diseases in time.
Preventive measures
As mentioned above, it is imperative to monitor the state of your body. However, this is not all. There are no specific preventive measures, so it is necessary to detect venereal diseases in time and cure them. In this way, complications can be avoided.
If it is a chronic form, then relapses should be prevented. That is why you need to regularly undergo treatment in sanatoriums, where various mud treatment procedures are carried out. All patients who have already been diagnosed with Reiter's syndrome once must be registered with the dispensary and periodically take tests. During an exacerbation, you need to follow a diet, that is, do not eat fatty foods, as well as those dishes that irritate the pancreas.
