1, what kind of joint lesions to pay attention to rheumatoid arthritis may? It can be said that rheumatoid arthritis has the following characteristics: (1) it is caused by immune disorders; (2) it starts by mainly invading the synovial membrane of the joints, causing chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joints; (3) it causes destruction of cartilage and bone of the joints after further development of the disease, leading to deformity and disability of the joints. Therefore, when there is swelling and pain in the joint for which no clear cause can be found (the cause of the immune disorder is less clear), the disease should be noted as a possibility. This is especially true when the following manifestations occur: multiple joints on both sides of the body starting at the same time or sequentially, persistent onset for more than one month, swollen and painful joints that become more pronounced after rest, and prolonged stiffness in the painful joints after rest. The diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is considered when the doctor looks for evidence of immune disorders, or evidence of cartilage and bone destruction in the joints. 2. How is rheumatoid arthritis treated? The destruction of articular cartilage and bone in this disease can occur mostly in the first two years of the disease, and once the cartilage and bone of the joints are destroyed, it is irreversible. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are very important. Current treatment mainly targets the inflammation of the synovial membrane and cartilage of the joints, and there are no reliable drugs that can reverse the destruction of the cartilage and bone of the joints. There are two main types of treatment drugs available today. One type of drug is able to reduce the symptoms caused by the inflammation of the joint, but cannot delay and prevent the destruction of the cartilage and bone of the joint. These drugs are mainly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sometimes commonly referred to as anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. Most people are familiar with the following: aspirin, anti-inflammatory pain, inflammatory pain, diclofenac, ibuprofen, meloxicam, nabumetone, celecoxib, and hundreds of others. These drugs are mainly used as symptomatic treatment for joint inflammation and are often referred to as “bridge” drugs, meaning that the patient is led from the painful shore to the pain-free shore and the bridge has to be dismantled after the patient has crossed the river. This type of medicine is often used incorrectly. One is to use this drug alone for a long time without combining drugs that can delay or stop the destruction of joint bones, so that the disease is apparently controlled while it is actually still developing; the second is to not pay attention to their adverse reactions and side effects, such as gastrointestinal, kidney and cardiovascular damage, etc. In fact, it often happens that gastrointestinal bleeding and perforation, kidney damage and aggravation of cardiovascular disease are caused by unreasonable use. However, if applied skillfully and rationally, it is possible to minimize this harm. Third, the combined use of these drugs is not advocated, mainly because it will aggravate the adverse reactions and side effects. It is worth noting: there are many proprietary Chinese medicines, especially the so-called folk ancestral recipes, in the medicine are added to such drugs, sometimes even more than one, however, in the composition of the drug is not described. The second category is the drugs that can effectively control inflammation and delay or even stop the development of the disease. The main drugs are those that can reduce the immune disorders of the body. The use of these drugs should be carried out under the guidance of a specialist. They are not listed here. Hormones such as dexamethasone and prednisone are among the drugs that still have some controversy. There is little controversy about their powerful anti-inflammatory effects, and they can quickly control inflammation (which is often used by unscrupulous people as the “dog meat” in the “sheep’s head for dog meat”, as detailed in another article) and reduce symptoms. The main controversy is, do they have a delaying or even stopping effect on the destruction of joint bone and cartilage? Should these drugs be used routinely? What is the most reasonable way to use them? The general principle at present is that the choice is made for different conditions (not detailed at this time).