In the meantime, these diseases have a completely different nature and a different treatment.Knowing these differences means not giving a disease the opportunity to dominate you.
Difference 1. Source of the problem
Arthritis is a degenerative process, accompanied by deformation and friction of the joint capsule, which allows the joints to move easily and freely.In addition to the elderly, arthritis often suffers from athletes who, due to constant overload, cartilage, covering the surface of the joints, cracks, dilution.
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease associated with either failure in the immune system (rheumatoid arthritis) or with infection - genital, intestinal (reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis).
Difference 2. Symptoms
Arthritis does not always indicate itself with pain that occurs during movement or morning stiffness, which disappears after several movements.The joints affected by arthritis during the first clicks and crunching, in which possible victims of the disease do not pay any attention, continuing to load the worn joint.
Arthritis begins with severe pain, swelling, redness of the skin around the weak joint, fever.But at first it can occur in a hidden form.Pushing the development of the disease can give stress, excessive work, hypothermia, infection - a cold, cystitis.
Difference 3. The nature of the joint damage
Arthritis more often affects the joints of the feet (hip, knee, ankle), which represent the maximum load.
With rheumatoid arthritis, the joints of a brush or legs, the fruits suffer.The elbow and knee joints (usually symmetrically) are then affected, and sometimes the disease affects the internal organs (liver, kidneys).
With reactionary arthritis, joint inflammation is more often asymmetric nature: not both joints suffer, but one.The pain runs, such as in the steps, from foot to foot.
Difference 4. Treatment
Arthritis, especially in a neglected state, is impossible to ultimately cure.But with a sufficient and stable intake of the oral drugs stimulating cartilage regeneration, it can significantly slow down its growth and improve the quality of life of the patient.Anti -inflammatory arthritis drugs play an auxiliary role due to their negative effect on the gastrointestinal tract mucosa.
Arthritis of infectious origin is fully cured if the treatment begins in time with drugs affecting immunity, antibiotics.In particularly serious, advanced cases, the course of treatment is repeated several times.
Rheumatoid arthritis for lifelong doses of corticosteroids, anti -inflammatory drugs, cytostatic, will need to be cured.But other medicines appear.Thus, in the mid -1990s, the era of genetic mechanical biological drugs began, which allow for the achievement of a highly recession of the disease, as well as a decrease in the dose of hormonal agents.