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How to treat Psoriatic Arthritis patients?
About 10 percent to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints. There are several types of psoriatic arthritis, with symptoms that range from mild to severe. Psotiaric arthritis causes swelling in the joints. Early recognition, diagnosis and treatment of psoriatic arthritis can relieve pain and inflammation and possibly help prevent progressive joint involvement and damage. Without treatment, psoriatic arthritis can potentially be disabling and crippling. It affects a number of joints including the fingers, wrists, toes, knees, ankles, elbows and shoulder joints, the spine and joints in the lower back (called sacroiliac joints).
There are no permanent remedies for Psoriatic arthritis, however with adequate precautions taken the condition is saved from degenerating and the patient recovers to a large extent.
Treating Psoriatic arthritis, effectively:
- There are various kinds of medication that are administered for Arthritis. So Arthritic patients don't have much cause of worry anymore. These medicines are also easily available in the pharmacist's store nearby.
- The group of medicines called NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) include various over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen as well as prescription products which all help to reduce inflammation, stiffness and joint pains.
- Analgesics like Aspirins and COX-2 medicines fall under the category of NSAIDs.
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) may relieve more severe symptoms and attempt to slow or stop joint and tissue damage and progression of psoriatic arthritis. These are a popular group of medicines amongst arthritis patients.
- Biologics, such as Enbrel, Humira and Remicade, are also considered DMARDs. They are highly selective agents that target specific internal events in the body that cause psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
- A number of alternative and complementary approaches are also used in the treatment of Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
- Studies have also shown that Enbrel, a form of Biologic, reduces the progression of joint damage for two years among psoriatic arthritis patients using the treatment.
- Remicade is a biologic medication approved in May 2005 by the FDA to treat psoriatic arthritis. Treatment of psoriatic arthritis with Remicade calls for patients to receive 5 mg per kilogram under professional supervision during the first six weeks of treatment. After the first three treatments, patients continue to receive Remicade infusions at regular intervals of eight weeks.
- Both injection of gold salts and administration of gold capsules by mouth have been reported to be effective in treating arthritis affecting the limbs, but not for treating arthritis of the spine. This method is recommended in general for arthritis patients, especially rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis patients. However due to inflation and other accessible methods of medication, gold therapy has declined over the past few years.