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Effects of psoriatic arthritis on the human body
What is psoriatic arthritis? The form of arthritis which mainly the patients suffer from irritation is psoriatic arthritis. This condition features red patches of skin overgrown with silver scales. When the body’s immune system starts to attack healthy cells and tissues, it occurs. Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in attacking healthy tissues and damaging the immune system.
Psoriasis plays the leading role in developing arthritis in the human body. It may be due to one’s age and family history. It can occur if family members had suffered due to this condition before. A small portion of this disease patients may also suffer from this arthritis’s severe form, which doctors call arthritis mutilans. Swollen fingers and toes, foot pain, lower back pain, and hardness are its symptoms.
Researchers have found no cure for it yet. The main focus to control this is to handle all the symptoms and prevent damages caused due to this. What are the symptoms, causes, and prevention of this arthritis? We described all the answers related to this in the description mentioned below.
What are the leading causes of psoriatic arthritis?
What is psoriatic arthritis? And what are the leading causes? This arthritis, which doctors call PsA in short, happens due to some specific reasons. So how will we know whether our body is experiencing PsA or not? The prime cause is the immune system of our body starts attacking our healthy cells and tissues. The unusual immune response causes joint inflammation. Moreover, it also causes the overproduction of our body cells. Furthermore, in severe cases, PsA can cause disability to the human body.
The reasons behind the attacking of healthy cells and tissues are still not delicate. But genetic and environmental factors may play a massive role in this case. Viral or bacterial infections can trigger PsA in victims. Besides, the patients of this disease may have a family history of either psoriatic arthritis or its symptoms. From recent researches, researchers show us that there are specific genetic markers. These are the associates of this disease.
What are the symptoms of PsA?
What is psoriatic arthritis? Psa is a chronic swelling disease that causes serious pain. In addition to this, in severe cases, it may cause disability. The main symptoms of this disease are- joint pain, stiffness, swelling, etc. Observance of a sausage-like node in fingers and toes. Before the exposure of joint symptoms, hands and feet may deform. Besides, spondylitis may also develop due to PsA. It causes swelling of joints in between the vertebrae of your spine.
Furthermore, swelling can be visible in the joints between your spine and pelvis. PsA can be the cause of foot pain too. The foot pain usually develops at the points where tendons and ligaments attach to your bones, especially at the sole of your foot or at the heel back. Exposure to certain infections (bacterial infection and HIV) may occur. However, it can attack any part of your body, ranging from mild attack to severe attack over time. But through proper medication, it’s possible to improve the condition.
Preliminary stages of PsA
What is psoriatic arthritis? The type of swelling arthritis that causes swelling, hardness, redness, pain, and damage to the skin, nails are PsA. It occurs because our immune system is weak. The early stages of this disease may differ from person to person. But if you experience any of the following symptoms in your body, then you need to consult with a doctor immediately:
- Back pain (along the joints, which is where the spine connects with your pelvis)
- Eye swelling
- Fatigue
- Joint redness and swelling
- Changes in your fingernails or toenails, including holes, swells, losing colors, or softness
- Morning joint pain that improves with activity
- Skin rash (Marks on the elbows, knees, and around the ears, scalp)
- Psoriatic flares
- Reduced range of motion
- Sausage-like swelling of an entire finger or toe.
- Scalp diseases
- Tendon or ligament pain at the Achilles tendon, the bottom of the foot, or elbow (tennis elbow)
Don’t neglect this disease, then it can lead to permanent damages and deformations.
How can the risks of psoriatic arthritis be lessened?
What is psoriatic arthritis? This disease is a form of arthritis. Usually, this affects people who have hard irritations. But the unfortunate fact is that there no proper remedies yet. Although, following a proper diet and medication, you can reduce PsA symptoms. Besides, diet prevents it to a great level. Before bringing a huge change in the diet, you must consult a doctor.
These are some of the systemic medication to control this disease-
- Reduce your sugar consumption
- Cut back on red meat.
- Limit dairy
- Monitor facts
- Boost up your antioxidant intake
- Follow a healthy lifestyle.
In both psoriasis and arthritis, disease symptoms may alternate with periods of remission. This disease affects about 30% of people with psoriasis. PsA can start at any age but often appears between ages 30. Both conditions can affect people of any age. So, the patient of this disease must consult with a doctor as soon as they see some symptoms.
What are the risk factors of PsA?
What is psoriatic arthritis? And what are the risk factors? This disease may develop in the human body due to some genetic and environmental factors. Though it’s not entirely clear, it seems likely both play a role. Several factors can increase the risks of this disease. The single most significant factor for developing PsA has psoriasis—people who are likely to develop this disease have deformed nails. PsA can severely cause damage to joints of the body.
Another risk factor for developing this can be your family history. If any of your family members had arthritis before, then due to heredity, it may develop in you too. In addition to this, age can also be a prime factor behind the cause of this disease. It can occur most often if your period is between 30 to 50. Moreover, symptoms affect the scalp and groin, nail involvement in swelling, such as nail swelling, can be risk factors. This disease can cause impacts to many systems in the body, which is harmful.
Complications of psoriatic arthritis
A complication of this disease includes red patches of skin topped with silvery scales. And people who have these symptoms are affected by this disease. In most people, these symptoms are seen first and then doctors diagnose them. But before the appearance of patches, joint pains may begin. The severeness of PsA can reach a great extent. But through proper medication and lifestyle, the severeness can be reduced.
Among all the victims, a small portion of them may develop arthritis mutilans- a severe and tormenting form of this disease. It may also result in disability. Over time, arthritis mutilans can destroy the hands’ small bones, particularly the fingers, which may lead to permanent deformation and disability. On the other hand, this disease may develop pink eyes, which can be the reason for painful and blurred vision. So, it is essential to diagnose this disease immediately after seeing the symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is psoriatic arthritis? and what are the frequently asked questions about it?
Which one is the most common form of psoriatic arthritis?
The most common forms of this disease are-
- Asymmetric arthritis
- Symmetric arthritis
What are arthritis mutilans?
The severe and rare form of this disease happens due to bones’ resorption and the consequential collapse of soft tissues. It results in the disappearance of bone tissues.
Which parts of the body do PsA attack at an early stage?
This disease can attack joints, including shoulders, knees, joints present in up and down of the neck back. Besides, it can cause finger or toe swelling like a sausage.
What are the common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis?
This disease can affect any part of the human body. The main signs and symptoms are joint pains, swelling, and hardness.
How does it feel being a PsA patient?
The patient has to go through excessive ache. When it affects the toes and fingers, it becomes sausage-shaped. Arthritis might affect pairs of joints on the sides of the body—for instance, your knees, ankles, hips, and elbows.
Is PsA curable?
Unfortunately, there’s no proper cure for this disease. However, the right medication and care can get it into remission.
What prolongs PsA?
Stress unchains a chemical that causes swelling. The faulty immune system makes this disease prone to cause swelling when you are the sufferer. So stress doubles your swelling and pain.
People of which age may have PsA?
People of any age can have this disease. But most often, it occurs to adults whose age is between 30 to 50.
Can you get killed through PsA?
PsA induces heart diseases. It damages the heart and makes it hard to function. The symptoms of this disease can also harm the other parts of the body including limbs. It can also damage the skin. So, yes there are risks of death from PsA.
What are the damages PsA causes?
The faulty immune response causes inflammation that can cause damage to your small bones and feet. The fingers of hands and toes may deform. And it may take the shape of a sausage.
Can PsA reduce life expectancy?
Psoriatic arthritis doesn’t reduce the life expectancy of human life. But it may cause diseases like heart disease, etc. This heart disease can get serious and affect your lifestyle and lifetime.
In a nutshell
So what is psoriatic arthritis? By this time, we’ve got all the answers related to these questions from the above interpretation. This disease is an autoimmune disease. Due to this, the faulty immune response causes inflammation in our joints. Besides, it also causes swelling, joint pains, and stiffness. this disease starts through the attacking of healthy tissues and cells of the body by the immune system.
Though this disease is not curable, with proper medication and a different lifestyle, we can reduce the severeness. Patients with PsA have a higher self-rated disease severity than those with psoriasis only. Moreover, there’s a 60% higher risk of premature mortality than the general population. Besides, their life expectancy estimates about three years shorter than usual.
Most potent therapies used to control psoriasis damages the action of immune cells. The drugs attack a wide variety of cells, good and bad. But if we can manipulate immune responses more selectively, this could be key to psoriasis management. Proper medication can get this disease into remission. Without treatment, this may be disabling. By following the advice above in the description, we can minimize the harmful effects of this disease. So, what is psoriatic arthritis? you got you to answer
