Psoriatic arthritis refers to arthritis that affects patients with psoriasis, leading to red skin patches. People developed the condition of psoriasis many years ago before being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis.
Many people suffer from joint issues. Some ignore their conditions that lead to the development of complications. The problems of joints arise in some people before the appearance of skin patches. They can also suffer from both conditions at the same time.
Swelling in the areas of joints, stiffness, and pain are the core symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. They can impact any part of your body, including the spine and fingertips.
When people ignore the mild symptoms of the disease, they may develop moderate to severe symptoms later on. That is the reason it is essential to detect and diagnose certain medical conditions early. It helps to be protected from the development of complications.
And we all know it is challenging to treat complications, specifically if you have any other medical condition. The symptoms of both psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis can recur. People with these conditions can experience flares that are very irritating.
The bad news about psoriatic arthritis is that there is no proper treatment available for it. But specific therapies focus on the management of the symptoms and prevention of damage to joints. It can be disabling if you leave it untreated.
Symptoms
Do not consider the condition of psoriasis mild. This disease and psoriatic arthritis are both considered chronic diseases. Another bad news about these diseases is that they become worse over time. You may have episodes in which your symptoms appear and go away temporarily.
Psoriatic arthritis affects both sides of your body. It can also appear on one side of the body. The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis match with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Both diseases induce pain in the area of joints.
Your joints with these conditions become swollen and warm to the touch. Psoriatic arthritis can cause:
- Swollen Toes And Fingers: Psoriatic arthritis is involved in causing sausage-like and painful swelling in the area of your toes and fingers.
- Foot Pain: Psoriatic arthritis can induce pain at tendons and ligaments that are attached to your bones. Your back heel area can also be affected by the pain. Moreover, it can cause pain in your foot soles too.
- Lower Back Pain: Some people may develop a particular condition termed spondylitis after getting psoriatic arthritis. Spondylitis causes inflammation between the joints of the vertebrae of the spine and pelvis.
- Nail Alterations: Nails can start forming pits or tiny dents.
- Eye Inflammation: Uveitis induced eye pain, blurry vision, and redness in the areas of the eyes. Do not be careless about this condition because it can cause vision loss if you leave it untreated.
Taking Appointment From Your Doctor
Tell the doctor about your joint pain if you have psoriasis. Do not leave psoriatic arthritis untreated because it can damage your joints.
Causes
When your body’s immune system starts to attack healthy tissues and cells, you may develop the condition of psoriatic arthritis. The immune system starts causing inflammation in the area of your joints. It also overproduces the cells of your skin.
You cannot blame one cause for this disease. Both environmental and genetic factors play a vital role in causing psoriatic arthritis. Many patients have a family history of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Researchers have also reported specific genetic markers that are involved in psoriatic arthritis.
Any viral or bacterial infection can trigger your immune system to attack healthy cells. It may also be caused by physical trauma. People with inherited tendencies are specifically at risk.
Risk Factors
Different factors make you vulnerable to developing psoriatic arthritis. These factors may:
- Psoriasis: It enhances the risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.
- Family History: Many people who have psoriatic arthritis have a sibling or parent with this disease.
- Age: Anyone can suffer from this condition, but people between 30 and 55 are vulnerable to it.
Complications
Only a tiny percentage of people who have psoriatic arthritis can develop arthritis mutilans. It is a painful and severe disabling form of psoriatic arthritis.
Arthritis mutilans can start destroying small bones on your fingers and hands, leading to permanent disability. People with psoriatic arthritis can develop hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other cardiovascular diseases.
