Most people’s understanding of rheumatic diseases is limited to rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, but in fact, rheumatology is an emerging and relatively young discipline, rheumatology is not only limited to joint lesions or skin lesions, but also intersects and interpenetrates with multiple disciplines and specialties (dermatology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, orthopedics, neurology, endocrinology, gynecology, respiratory medicine, hematology, nephrology, gastroenterology, cardiology It includes diseases with complex clinical manifestations and can involve multiple systems and organs throughout the body.
I. What is arthritis?
Arthritis, as the name implies, is a joint-related disease with a wide variety of causes and different manifestations, and is a common, chronic, and extremely damaging disease. Arthritis is closely related to many factors such as genetics, immune disorders, and trauma, and can occur at any age; arthritis damage is not limited to the joints, but also involves the kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, and many other organs, so it is important to pay attention to it.
Some arthritis is related to a person’s immune disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, which we also call rheumatic immune diseases. It includes more than 100 diseases, and the treatment and daily care and health care are not exactly the same, so the disease must be diagnosed before the right medicine can be prescribed.
What is the relationship between arthritis and the immune system?
When the immune system is disordered, it mistakenly attacks some normal tissues and organs of the body as if they were foreigners, resulting in damage to itself. Therefore, immune disorders are the root cause of rheumatic diseases. It is not only caused by the single factor of weather, nor is it caused by low immunity.
Third, what are the rheumatic immune diseases included?
Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, dry syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, leukodystrophy, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, etc. There are more than 100 kinds of rheumatic diseases in 10 categories.
Fourth, why rheumatism?
The cause of rheumatic immune diseases is still unclear, but it is related to genetics, environment and immune disorders.
V. What are the symptoms to be alert to rheumatic immune diseases?
1, fever: more common, often unexplained, irregular fever, usually no chills, but also can appear high fever.
2, pain: common joint swelling and pain, neck and shoulder pain, low back pain, heel pain, etc., is an important cause of functional impairment.
3.Skin and mucous membrane symptoms: rash, photosensitivity, oral ulcers, vulvar ulcers, reticular bruising, skin ulcers, etc.
4.Morning stiffness: stiffness in the joints in the morning or after rest, with restricted movement, affecting activities such as turning over, buttoning clothes, clenching fists, etc. This feeling disappears only after slow movement of the limbs.
5, Raynaud’s sign: the ends of the fingers and toes turn white, purple and red when they are cold or emotionally agitated, or accompanied by numbness and pain, and in severe cases there may be skin ulcers.
6, muscle pain, muscle weakness
7, systemic damage: some rheumatic immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. can have multiple organ damage, such as the performance of cardiac inflammation (pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis), kidney damage (proteinuria, hematuria, swelling, hypertension, renal failure), hematological system (white thin reduction, red blood cell reduction, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, etc.), respiratory system (interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary artery High pressure, pleural effusion), digestive system (liver function damage, jaundice), etc.
8, often autoantibodies: anti-nuclear antibodies, anti-ds-DNA antibodies, anti-ENA antibodies, anti-platelet antibodies, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, rheumatoid factor, etc.
9, systemic vasculitis: is a class of inflammatory diseases with vascular inflammatory reaction as the main pathological changes, including large arteritis, giant cell arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa, Wegener’s granulomatosis, etc. Symptoms are more complex, often with fast blood sedimentation, fever, systemic damage and other symptoms, and need experienced professional doctors to diagnose.
10, with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis as the main: with pulmonary hypertension, often the disease is more serious, and should be actively treated.
Six, scientific consultation
1, choose a regular hospital, do not believe in some individual hospitals, clinics, false advertising and personal private system of drugs, because they may not pass the national regulatory approval, the efficacy is not exact, toxic side effects are not clear. Choose rheumatologists specializing in rheumatology and standardize anti-rheumatic immunotherapy as early as possible, such as salazosulfapyridine, leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine, leucovorin, methotrexate, leucovorin, etc.
2. Regular follow-up and timely adjustment of treatment plan to avoid joint deformity and functional impairment.
Seven, treatment chapter.
Rheumatic diseases are mostly chronic diseases, most of which, like hypertension and diabetes, are not completely curable and require long-term or even lifelong medication.
1, treatment principles: early diagnosis, timely, regular anti-rheumatic treatment.
2, the purpose of treatment: control and prevent joint destruction, loss of function, reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life.
3.Treatment methods include: science education, drug treatment, other treatments and life care.
4.Featured treatment: stem cell transplantation and biological agent treatment, this class of drugs mainly target the immune process of cytokines, and its selective/competitive binding, so as to play a rapid relief of symptoms and improve the condition.
Eight, the danger of rheumatic immune diseases teratogenic, disabling, multi-system and multi-organ damage.
The prevention and health care of rheumatic immune diseases should avoid cold, wind, moisture and fatigue, prevent diseases such as colds and reduce the use of hair dyes.
Ten, gout diet recommendations.
1. Drink more than 2000ml of water daily;
2, avoid high purine diet, such as white wine, beer, animal offal, seafood and meat, thick broth, soy products, spinach, beans, mushrooms, cauliflower, etc.