All You Need To Know About Psoriatic Arthritis

An autoimmune disease sometimes mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis causes painful, swollen, stiff joints, and can lead to permanent joint damage without treatment.

If you’ve been diagnosed with psoriasis, then you’re (way too) familiar with the accompanying thick, dry, red patches of skin that flake off in silvery scales. But if you’re experiencing joint pain or swelling along with this chronic skin condition, there’s a chance you might be one of the many people with undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis, a type of inflammatory arthritis that attacks the joints and tendons.

Yes, you heard it right – “undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis”

Identifying this autoimmune disease is the most difficult task – as its symptoms resemble signs and symptoms of others diseases, especially of Psoriasis, Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. How? Let’s find out -

Both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are autoimmune diseases, meaning they result when your immune system attacks your body, triggering inflammation. In the case of psoriasis, the immune system attack affects the skin, resulting in raised red, white, or silvery patches. With psoriatic arthritis, the immune system attacks the joints, usually those in the fingers, toes, ankles, knees, wrists, or even the neck and spine.

Many psoriatic arthritis symptoms are similar to those of other forms of arthritis, which can make the condition difficult to diagnose. Like osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis can cause painful joints. But osteoarthritis pain usually is a result of cartilage on the joints wearing down and rubbing against each other. Psoriatic arthritis is caused by inflammation in and around the joint and is sometimes mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis, another autoimmune disease with similar symptoms.

Related: How homeopathy treats osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Read below the typical symptoms of Psoriasis Arthritis so that you can identify the disease in the initial stage.

Signs and Symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis

Some people experience mild symptoms with occasional flare-ups, while others have more severe symptoms and continuous pain. Here are some of the most common psoriatic arthritis symptoms:

• Pain, swelling or stiffness in one or more joints
• Joints that are red or warm to the touch
• Frequent joint tenderness or stiffness
• Sausage-like swelling in one or more of the fingers and toes
• Pain in and around the feet and ankles
• Changes to the nails, such as pitting or separation from the nail bed
• Pain in the lower back, above the tailbone

About 85 percent of people who develop psoriatic arthritis already have psoriasis, but the other 15 percent have no skin symptoms before their joint pain starts. The earlier you recognize these signs of psoriatic arthritis and reach out to your doctor, the earlier you can start treatment – and keep your joints working properly.

Diagnosis

In one study, the National Psoriasis Foundation found that among participants diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, 44 percent said it took a year or more to get a diagnosis, and 30 percent said it took longer than two years. That’s a major issue because early intervention is a key to saving your joints. If left untreated, psoriatic arthritis can cause your joints to become deformed and lead to long-term disability and discomfort.

In order to know if you have psoriatic arthritis, your doctor has to eliminate other possible causes. He or she can do this by looking at your medical history, completing a physical exam, running blood tests and looking at MRIs or X-rays of your joints.

Hence, choosing the right doctor is very important. There are a few doctors you can see to help diagnose and treat psoriatic arthritis. You can schedule an appointment with your doctor – perhaps the best option – a homeopath.

Treatment

Many people think that there is no cure for psoriasis and the condition recurs after stopping the treatment. This doesn’t happen in all the cases. Especially when you make some lifestyle changes while taking psoriasis treatment in homeopathy. More importantly, the risks for other conditions get reduced by seeking psoriasis homeopathic treatment as early as possible. Because homeopathy for psoriasis gives relief to a person by treating his/her condition from the root cause.

Treating psoriasis with homeopathy at the initial stage can reduce the inflammation that sets people up for psoriatic arthritis and other health problems such as heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes (link to: KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DIABETES YOU HAVE), and alter these risks.

Related: Lifestyle changes that can make your life better with Psoriatic Arthritis