Rheumatology is one of the major subspecialties of clinical medicine, including hundreds of diseases related to bones, muscles, blood vessels, skin, etc. Common diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, desiccation syndrome, leukoarthrosis, systemic sclerosis, dermatomyositis, osteoarthritis, gout, nodular polyarteritis, etc. Rheumatic diseases are difficult to diagnose and have high disability rate, but timely and correct treatment has good results. So what conditions should be thought of rheumatism?
1.Joint swelling and pain
Small joints of both hands (proximal interphalangeal joints and metacarpophalangeal joints) swelling and pain are symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, distal interphalangeal joints, knee joints swelling and pain with bony nodules should be considered osteoarthritis, unilateral first metatarsophalangeal joint (after the big toe) or sudden swelling and pain in the inner and outer ankle often suggest gout, pain and limited movement of wrist, elbow, shoulder and knee joints are also common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
2. Low back pain
Low back pain and stiffness in the early morning or after sitting is a symptom of ankylosing spondylitis, which is mostly seen in adolescent males, and its pain can also appear in the hip and lower limb joints.
3.Joint deformation
Rheumatoid can appear “swan’s neck”, “button flower” pattern of the fingers and fingers to the medial oblique, osteoarthritis often appear distal interphalangeal joint expansion. However, most of the joint deformation is no longer an early symptom, timely diagnosis and treatment can mostly reduce or avoid this situation.
4.Morning stiffness
It refers to the feeling of adhesion in the joints, back and soft tissues after waking up in the early morning, which can be reduced after activity. In rheumatoid arthritis, morning stiffness can last for more than one hour, while in other diseases, the duration of morning stiffness is relatively short.
5.Fever
Fever can occur in the active phase of many rheumatic diseases, with low fever being the most common. Rheumatic fever and reactive arthritis often have fever as one of the initial symptoms, while adult Still’s disease has flaccid fever (alternating between high and low fever or no fever).
6. Skin rash and purpura
Systemic lupus erythematosus may present with a butterfly rash on the face and purpura (bleeding spots) on the lower extremities. V-shaped rash and shawl rash on the forehead are seen in dermatomyositis, and a variety of systemic vasculitis may present with a rash or purpura on the extremities.
7.Mouth ulcers
Recurrent oral ulcers are commonly seen in SLE, and leukoaraiosis should be thought of if accompanied by vulvar ulcers or ophthalmia.
8.Sun allergy
Skin discomfort or even rash always appears after sun exposure, which can be a manifestation of lupus erythematosus, but also seen in undifferentiated connective tissue disease, mixed connective tissue disease, etc.
9.Dry mouth, dry eyes
See in dry syndrome, the disease sometimes accompanied by a large number of dental caries and tooth loss, but also can appear lip inflammation, tongue inflammation and parotid enlargement.
10.Reynolds phenomenon
It is a common symptom of systemic sclerosis, and is often accompanied by stiff expression and ulcerative necrosis of finger ends.
11.Proximal muscle weakness
The muscle weakness of patients with dermatomyositis is manifested as difficulty in standing up after squatting, difficulty in raising the arm, etc.
12.Some physical examination abnormalities
Decreased white blood cells or red blood cells or platelets, urine protein or urine occult blood, increased uric acid, large difference in blood pressure in both arms, weakened or absent pulse, enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes found in routine physical examination may be diagnostic clues of rheumatic disease.
If you have any of the above symptoms, you should visit a hospital to confirm or exclude rheumatism in time to facilitate early treatment and early recovery.