What are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis? What department do I need to see for treatment?

 

Rheumatoid arthritis, characterized by symptoms such as stiff hands or joint swelling in the morning, is an important disease for early examination and early treatment.Currently, treatments are making great progress, so remission can be maintained.It's easy to think of it as a disease that happens to women, but it also happens to men. This time, we will explain what kind of disease rheumatoid arthritis is, symptoms, causes, and examination subjects.

What is rheumatoid arthritis?

What kind of disease is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation due to immune abnormalities.Because the joints are inflamed, symptoms such as joint pain and swelling occur. Sometimes, the joint is accompanied by severe pain, which causes pain even without moving the joint.Because cartilage or bone is destroyed, proper treatment is needed because progression can deform joints or cause dysfunction. Pain can also interfere with your daily life.It is a disease that may be difficult to gain understanding from people around you, although there are self-aware symptoms such as "the hands are stiff and do not move" and "the joints are swollen and painful."

What kind of disease is autoimmune disease?

Autoimmune diseases are diseases caused by damage to one's cells or tissues by one's immune function.Originally, our body is equipped with an immune function to attack and remove foreign substances that have entered the body from the outside. However, if there is any abnormality or change in immune function, it will attack its own cells or tissues that should be harmless.Then, joints, organs, and skin all over the body cause diseases. The obvious cause of autoimmune disease is unknown.It can be caused by deterioration of protein in the body, by misrecognition of protein structure, or by some kind of impairment in immune function itself.

symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

What are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis can be largely divided into symptoms that occur in the joints and throughout the body.Symptoms that are likely to appear early include morning stiffening of joints, joint pain and swelling, as well as fatigue, mild fever, and lack of appetite.

joint symptoms

Please tell me the symptoms of the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by symmetrical swelling of both legs and finger joints in the early stages.In particular, it is easy to recognize the stiffness of the hand joint in the morning, and symptoms appear within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning and persist for more than 30 minutes. In addition, depending on the person, lesions develop in large joints such as hip joints and knee joints.If symptoms progress, water accumulates in the knee joint or hip joint, making it difficult to move, which can interfere with daily life. In the case of patients who are progressing to full-body joints, finger or wrist joints can be destroyed, resulting in shortening fingers or dislocation of joints, which can cause deformation of toes.

symptoms throughout the body

Symptoms that occur throughout the body include anemia, fatigue of the body, lack of appetite, and a slight fever.If these symptoms appear, they get worse and worse. In the case of a patient who is progressing to a full-body joint, the spine may be shifted forward from the top of the neck.This condition can cause difficulty in breathing or paralysis of hands and feet because the spinal cord is compressed.

Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Why does rheumatoid arthritis occur?

The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown. Viruses, bacterial infections, overwork, stress, injuries, smoking, and childbirth can be triggered.Rheumatoid arthritis is thought to be hereditary, but generally it doesn't seem to be that strong

subjects for rheumatoid arthritis

What department should I see if I have symptoms such as stiff joints?

If you have a stiff joint, let's see an orthopedic surgeon.Also, if you have general symptoms such as fatigue, mild fever, or lack of appetite, please see an internal medicine first. Rheumatoid arthritis is similar to the symptoms of other rheumatoid diseases, so a diagnosis by a rheumatologist is required.If you have any symptoms or characteristics that you are concerned about, please let me know in detail at the time of the examination.If you suspect rheumatoid arthritis, please fill out a letter of introduction and consult a rheumatologist. There is a possibility that a rheumatologist is enrolled in the Department of Rheumatology, Teachers' Disease, Internal Medicine, and Plastic Surgery.

Rheumatoid arthritis test

What tests are performed for rheumatoid arthritis?

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are similar to those of other rheumatoid diseases, so tests are also needed to distinguish them.In addition to the questionnaire, the diagnosis is comprehensively judged through facilitation, blood test, and burn test.Image tests include joint X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI.

Is there a gender or age difference for rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis occurs at any age.Most of them are women in their 30s and 40s.It's easy to think of it as a female disease, but there are about 20% of male patients. It is known that there are currently more than 700,000 patients.

a cure for rheumatoid arthritis

What are the treatments for rheumatoid arthritis?

There are three treatments for rheumatoid arthritis: medication, rehabilitation, and surgical therapy. Previous rheumatoid treatments had no choice but to suppress pain and inflammation with drugs or to surgically remove deteriorated joints.However, with the advent of new treatments, it is possible to prevent the progression of the disease and improve the quality of life (QL) of patients. The latest treatment for rheumatoid arthritis aims to be remission by combining various treatments.

What kind of treatment is drug therapy?

The purpose is to prevent joint destruction while suppressing joint pain and swelling by taking medicine. Drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are anti-inflammatory painkillers, anti-rheumatizers, steroids, and biological drugs.Each has the following features:

• Anti-inflammatory analgesics: Relieves joint pain and edema
• Antirheumatic drugs: act as immune disorders and inhibit the progression of disease
• Steroids: Relieve joint pain and swelling
• Biological agents: inhibit the progression of joint destruction

Steroids are more effective than anti-inflammatory painkillers or anti-rheumatic drugs, but once used, they are rarely stopped.You need to be careful when using it because it can cause infectious diseases or diabetes.

Rehabilitation

What do you do in rehabilitation training?

In rehabilitation, the following treatments are performed:

• Exercise therapy: Improves blood flow and causes joint pain or muscle stiffness
• Thermotherapy: Warm up the affected area to relieve joint pain and stiffness

Rehabilitation treatment also aims to maintain muscle strength and joint movement.

What kind of treatment is surgical therapy?

Surgical treatment involves the following operations.

• synovial resection: surgery to remove the synovial membrane of the proliferated joint
• Functional reconstruction: surgery to replace a broken joint with an artificial joint

The purpose of surgical therapy is to be able to do the movements of meals, changes, and toilets necessary in daily life, and to restore walking function to prevent lying down.

arrangement

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by stiff hands or swelling of joints in the morning.It is one of the autoimmune diseases, but as drug therapy advances, it is possible to maintain its usual daily life.In addition to stiffening, pain, and swelling of the joints, symptoms such as fatigue and mild fever also occur.If you have any symptoms you are concerned about, let's see a medical institution.