What are the symptoms of dry syndrome?

  Dry syndrome is a diffuse connective tissue disease characterized by invasion of exocrine glands such as lacrimal and salivary glands, with lymphocytic infiltration and specific autoantibodies. Its symptom manifestation is mainly divided into two aspects: local manifestation and systemic manifestation.  Local manifestations are mainly reflected in the following aspects: 1. Dry mouth: 70%~80% of patients have dry mouth, and those who are serious need to drink water frequently when speaking, and need to be accompanied by liquid to send down when eating solid food. Some patients will have rampant dental caries, the teeth gradually become black, followed by small pieces falling off, and finally only the residual roots remain, which is one of the characteristics of this disease. About 50% of patients have intermittent swelling and pain in the parotid gland, involving unilateral or bilateral. Some patients will also have tongue pain, dry and cracked tongue, and atrophy of the tongue papillae.  2.Dry keratoconjunctivitis: symptoms such as dry eyes, foreign body sensation, less tears, or even no tears when crying, due to the decrease of mucin secreted by the lacrimal glands, which can lead to corneal ulcers in severe cases.  3. Other superficial sites: such as the nose, hard palate, trachea and its branches, mucosa of the digestive tract, and exocrine glands of the vaginal mucosa can be involved, resulting in corresponding symptoms.  Systemic manifestations are mainly reflected in the skin, skeletal muscles, kidney, respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system and vascular system.  1, skin: about 1/4 of the patients have different rashes, manifested as purpura-like rash, mostly seen in the lower limbs, the size of rice grains, appearing in batches. There may also be urticaria-like rash, erythema nodosum, etc.  2, skeletal muscle: arthralgia is more common, 70% to 80% of patients have arthralgia, of which 10% have arthrosis, mostly not serious, and transient.  3, kidney: 30% to 50% of patients have kidney damage, mainly involving the distal renal tubules, manifested as peripheral hypokalemic paralysis due to renal tubular acidosis, and in severe cases, renal calcification, renal stones, renal uremia and renal chondromalacia.  4, respiratory system: bronchitis, pulmonary maculopathy, interstitial pneumonia, etc., and even pulmonary hypertension, a few patients may die of respiratory failure.  5, digestive system: gastrointestinal mucosal layer exocrine gland lesions and non-specific symptoms such as atrophic gastritis, reduced gastric acid, chronic diarrhea. Liver damage is seen in about 20% of patients.  6. Nervous system: Both peripheral and central nerves can be involved, but peripheral nerve damage is more common. Sensory and motor nerve abnormalities, mild hemiparesis, and transverse myelopathy may occur, and aseptic meningitis, optic neuromyelitis optica, and multiple sclerosis have also been reported.  7. Hematologic system: Leukopenia or (and) thrombocytopenia may occur. The incidence of lymphoma is significantly higher than that of the normal population.  Therefore, it is also necessary to go to a regular hospital for examination and timely diagnosis and treatment to determine the cause of the disease in order to avoid delay.