Psoriatic Arthritis is a form of arthritis that affects people who have psoriasis- it is a condition that has red patches with silvery scales. It starts with Psoriasis and later it causes psoriasis arthritis but in some cases, joint pain starts first.
Symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis
Joint pain and stiffness
Extreme Foot pain
Lower Back Pain
Fatigue
Swelling in one or more joints
Swollen toes and finger
How to Ease Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms?
This Arthritis can get ease with proper exercise and medicine. Some of the body movements are mentioned below-
1. Moving- Exercise can help you to cure fast and lessen the stiffness and swelling of the joints. Make a list of activities like walking, swimming, and other slow movement activities. When exercise is done on a regular basis-
Joints get flexible
Increases blood flow
Boost the mood
Maintains weight
Higher Energy
If it is difficult to move with oneself then take the help of a therapist.
2. Use Hot and Coldwater- Warm towel can relieve the pain in the muscles and cold water can reduce swelling and redness from the skin.
Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis
This arthritis can affect inside as well outside part of the body. The main concern of this chronic disease is to control inflammation that causes joints to weaken. There is no complete cure treatment that exists, the treatment mainly focusses on controlling swelling to prevent joint pain and disability.
Medications which are effective in Psoriatic Arthritis
These oral medications have been helpful in preventing from Psoriatic Arthritis. Below are some-
1. New Oral medications- Apremilast drug has found potency and safety to cure this disease, many successful clinical trials have been done. Apremilast ( Otzela) reduces the activity of an enzyme in the body and controls swelling within the cells. Some side effects have been found that include, headache, nausea, and vomiting.
Apremilast (Otzela 30 mg) is a drug that prevents inflammation. This medicine blocks a particular enzyme called PDE-4, slows down swelling and pain in the joints.
2. Effective Biologic Agents- These are also known as biologic response modifiers. They include Tofacitinib (Xeljanz 5 mg), golimumab (Simponi), infliximab (Remicade), ixekizumab (Taltz), secukinumab (Cosentyx). These medications are very effective and show the result within a short time. Some of the above medications target the immune system that increases swelling in the body and damages joints. Tofacitinib, if taken in a higher dose can increase blood clotting risk in the lungs. These biologic modifiers can be used alone or with DMARDs include methotrexate.
3. DMARDS- These drugs easily control psoriatic arthritis and save joints from damage.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) include leflunomide (Arava) and sulfasalazine (Azulfidine). The potential side effects include liver damage and lung infections.
4. Immunosuppressants- These are the drugs that reduce body ability, also known as anti-rejection drugs. This class includes- Neoral, (Sandimmune), and azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan). Most of the cases these drugs increase infection susceptibility.
5. Steroids- These are strong anti-inflammatory drugs that help to relieve pain and swelling. The most common steroid is Prednisone, this drug is helpful for a shorter time but in some cases, it increases skin rashes and itchiness.
Steroids should not be used for a long time, as it has some serious side effects such as diabetes, weight gain, and hypertension.
Read:- Types of Psoriatic arthritis