New and existing treatments for psoriatic arthritis

New and existing treatments for psoriatic arthritis

Know about the New and Existing Treatments for Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that is a type of inflammatory arthritis. It causes a long-term condition in most people and may become worse with time, especially if left untreated. When the person suffering from this disease is not given proper treatment or when the treatment is prolonged, it can cause serious damage to the joints in the body. To avoid serious and permanent joint damages, it is important to get an early diagnosis. Learning and knowing the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis is hence important to get the right diagnosis and timely treatment.

Psoriatic arthritis may develop post a psoriasis disease. Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes scaly patches that develops on the skin. Not all types of psoriasis lead to psoriatic arthritis; however, in some cases of psoriasis can lead to an onset of psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis can affect any joint in the body. When psoriatic arthritis occurs in the spine, the condition is called spondylitis. It causes a stiffness in the neck or back, causing difficulty to the person while bending. People who have psoriatic arthritis may also get tender spots in the tendons. This causes a pain in the feet or the back of the heel.

Most people fear a permanent joint damage that could be caused by psoriatic arthritis; however, it is not entirely true. Psoriatic arthritis can cause permanent joint damage; however, this can only happen when it is left untreated or when the treatment is provided too late. An early diagnosis and treatment can cure psoriatic arthritis and not cause any harm to the joint. There are different types of treatments available to cure psoriatic arthritis. To know about them, read on!

Existing treatments for psoriatic arthritis
Patients with psoriatic arthritis undergo several types of treatments, some of them include doses of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicines. These medicines help treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, while some OTC and prescription medicines are simultaneously given to prevent permanent joint damage. The medications used to help treat psoriatic arthritis include NSAIDs, corticosteroids, topical treatments, DMARDs, biologics, and light therapy.

NSAIDs: These are the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are usually taken orally but can also be applied to the skin directly. NSAIDs reduce inflammation, pain, and swelling.

Corticosteroids: These are the medicines that are designed to make more anti-inflammatory hormone cortisol that is otherwise and naturally made by the adrenal glands. These too can be taken orally. They reduce inflammation but do have some side-effects if used for too long. The side effects can include facial swelling, osteoporosis, weight gain, and more.

Topical treatments: These are applied directly to the affected skin to treat the scaly and itchy skin caused by psoriasis. Topical treatments are available in the forms of gels, creams, and ointments. These can include prescribed medicines as well as those that can be bought over the counter.

DMARDs: These are the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that include various groups of medications that control and suppress chemicals that cause inflammation, so it doesn’t lead to joint damage. DMARDs also help reduce the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis.

Biologics: These come under DMARDs and are hence known as a subset of DMARDs. These are complex medicines that control and stop inflammation at the cellular level. These are administered either by infusion or injection.

Light therapy: This is a different type of treatment for psoriatic arthritis where the patient is exposed to ultraviolet light. This process is also called phototherapy. This treatment for psoriatic arthritis is done under medical supervision for safety purposes.

New treatments for psoriatic arthritis
There has been extensive research on new treatments for psoriatic arthritis to ensure a better quality of life for the patients. With the help of these studies, doctors are now able to administer different and new ways to treat psoriatic arthritis.

Some of the new medicines that have been approved by the FDA include ixekizumab and tofacitinib for treating psoriatic arthritis. These medicines can be taken along with a traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD). The combination of newly approved medicines along with DMARDs is prescribed post a thorough check-up by the doctor.

Though these medicines are FDA approved, they do interfere with the immune system of the body. This interference can increase the risk of infection as a side effect. Hence, to avoid this risk, patients are tested for tuberculosis before they start these new treatments for psoriatic arthritis.

Home remedies for psoriatic arthritis
There aren’t many new treatments for psoriatic arthritis that have been approved by the FDA; hence, when the existing treatments are combined with certain home remedies, the combination can give positive results.

  • Turmeric is one of the important herbs from the ginger family that may ease the effects of psoriasis as well as psoriatic arthritis flare-ups. You may ask your doctor about how you can use turmeric for treating psoriatic arthritis.
  • Epsom salt is one of the home remedies that has been used for treating many skin-related issues including psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Epsom salt contains magnesium that boosts bone health and relieves the itchiness of the skin.

You may combine your existing treatment or any new treatment for psoriatic arthritis with a home remedy to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis to get better results. However, it is important to discuss and take advice from your doctor about the home remedy combination to be safe.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.