The rheumatoid arthritis treatment misconception One of the misconceptions: “Western medicine has big side effects, Chinese medicine has small side effects, Chinese medicine is better than Western medicine.” This perception is wrong, in fact, “all drugs are toxic”, regardless of Chinese medicine, Western medicine is the same, if you can take drugs under the guidance of a doctor, its safety is guaranteed. It is worth being alert to the fact that some charlatans take advantage of this psychology and confuse patients with the so-called ancestral secret recipes and prescriptions, and many people fall for them. Therefore, if you suspect that you are suffering from rheumatoid off, you should go to a regular hospital, preferably to a rheumatology specialist for examination and treatment. Myth No. 2: “Hormones (prednisone) can not be taken, with addiction.” This view is not comprehensive. In the past, prednisone was used more often in rheumatoid treatment, and in recent years, hormones have been used less often as the preferred treatment drug. However, for some joints with serious symptoms, taking NSAIDs still cannot relieve the symptoms, or when there are obvious systemic symptoms or internal organ involvement, hormone therapy is still needed, but the dose is much lower than before. Patients do not need to be afraid of hormones, but should be decided by specialists. Myth No. 3: “If you suffer from wind-like disease, you will be crippled in nine out of ten cases.” There is no need to worry too much. It is true that for some patients with severe ankylosis, or those who do not adhere to regular treatment, it can lead to joint deformity and reduced function, but for most patients, if they can seize the first one or two years of the onset of the disease and take regular treatment and follow-up, serious deformity can be completely avoided and patients can maintain a better quality of life and ability to work. Even if a small number of patients develop severe joint deformities, it is possible to treat them through orthopedic surgery. In addition to the severity of the disease itself, whether or not the patient insists on receiving regular treatment plays an important role in determining whether or not he or she is disabled. Myth #4: “If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you can tell by measuring the rheumatoid factor.” This is not true. This is also a misconception that some non-rheumatologists tend to have. Positive rheumatoid factor is not unique to rheumatoid disease, but other diseases, such as dry syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, subacute bacterial endocarditis, etc., can also show positive reactions. Only about 85% of rheumatoid factor positive patients have rheumatoid factor, while another 15% of patients can always be negative. It is important to note that titers must be tested for positive results, as a positive test without a titer is meaningless for diagnosis. The rheumatoid factor test is only one of the reference indicators in the diagnosis of rheumatoid off, the doctor needs to integrate laboratory tests, clinical symptoms, physical examination and other aspects of information to make the correct diagnosis. Myth No. 5: “Take the same medicine every time, just buy some yourself at the pharmacy, you don’t have to go to the hospital often” Never. A follow-up visit to the hospital is not just for dispensing medication. Doctors have to observe changes in the patient’s condition, whether there are any adverse drug reactions, do some laboratory tests if necessary, and doctors also have to decide on the increase or decrease in the dosage of drugs and the change of varieties.