Psoriatic Arthritis

There are many kinds of arthritis, but few are as disruptive and problematic as the autoimmune disease psoriatic arthritis. But, even with all the problems psoriatic arthritis creates in a person’s life, there are options available. Psoriatic arthritis sufferers not only endure the pain of arthritis, but they wear visible signs of it on their skin. To understand the impact of the disease, first you should know about the skin disease, psoriasis.

Psoriatic Arthritis

According to medicinenet.com, www.medicinenet.com/, psoriatic arthritis first starts as this common skin disease. Psoriasis affects around two percent of white adults, with a further ten percent of those patients developing psoriatic arthritis. It is characterized by thickened patches of skin. These patches, called plaques, are itchy, red, and inflamed skin. They appear most commonly on the elbows, knees, scalp, and the palms of hands and feet. Not only do these patches cause pain and discomfort, but embarrassment and anxiety as well.

As if this disease were not bad enough to live with, patients then have to worry that they will develop arthritis along with the skin condition. Somewhere between ten and fifteen percent of people with the skin disease will later develop arthritis along with it, according to the Mayo Hospital website: www.mayoclinic.com/. As referenced by CNN, www.cnn.com/, psoriatic arthritis can be difficult to diagnose because it often has the same symptoms of other diseases, including other kinds of arthritis, gout, and Reiter’s syndrome.

Another deterrent is the lack of a firm diagnostic test. Instead, doctors must rely on their own judgment to make their diagnosis. Though there is no cure for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, there are treatment options. In May of 2007, medicalnewstoday.com released an article detailing the options available for psoriatic arthritis sufferers. The article can be viewed here: www.medicalnewstoday.com/.

According to the article, psoriatic arthritis can be treated fairly effectively, and usually only needs to occur when there is an outbreak – unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which requires near constant treatment to reduce symptoms. Since flare ups seem to be triggered by stress, the first step is to try to reduce their symptoms by relaxation and meditation techniques. But if a patient needs more serious care, they are usually prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug called NSAID, which helps control the inflammation. There are a variety of other drugs available which help ease symptoms and slow down the disease’s progression, but none of these offer a permanent solution.