Rheumatism is an infectious-allergic disease in which the connective tissue of the joints, the cardiovascular system, internal organs, muscles and skin are affected. The causative agent of this disease is considered to be hemolytic streptococcus, but the main role is played by allergy, which occurs as a result of high sensitivity to the secondary introduction of streptococcus. Usually, rheumatism develops after acute inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, tonsillitis, the appearance of such a disease with dental caries is possible. Cooling of the body also contributes to the development of this disease. Before you figure out how to treat rheumatism of the joints, legs, for example, you should understand what this disease is and what are its symptoms.

General information about rheumatism

In fact, rheumatism is not as common a disease as it is commonly thought. In general, this disease is typical for children aged 6 to 15 years. In older people, this disease appears extremely rarely. But even in that classical "children's" group, which is most susceptible to this disease, no more than 1 child out of a thousand is sick.

Many wonder why we hear this word so often if this disease is so rare? In this case, the effect is that earlier this disease was more common, but after medicine intensified and antibiotics became available, the number of cases of rheumatism decreased greatly.

The second reason is even simpler - earlier the word "rheumatism" denoted all diseases of the joints. Doctors simply did not distinguish between them, because there was no such need - the choice of medical procedures was small, respectively, and the treatment was almost always the same. But since the possibilities of medicine have increased, they began to distinguish between various diseases of the joints and select the appropriate treatment for each of them. Therefore, now no doctor will confuse the symptoms of real rheumatism with manifestations of other diseases.

It is also worth noting that rheumatism is characterized by seasonal exacerbations, while the intervals between attacks are different for everyone and can range from a couple of months to several years. In addition, if the first attack of the disease passes without damage to the joints, then the disease in general can go unnoticed for a long time. Such a latent form of the disease is revealed only after a time when rheumatic heart disease is formed. Repeated attacks of the disease in this case are much more difficult.

How to identify the disease?

In general, the symptoms of this disease are very characteristic. As we have already said, adolescents and children mainly suffer from this disease. Most often, the disease develops several (from 1 to 3) weeks after the child has had a streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract. It can be a sore throat, pharyngitis, which is an inflammation of the pharynx, or tonsillitis, in which the tonsils become inflamed.

The streptococcal infection itself does not always manifest itself clearly, often proceeding atypically and secretly. In this case, you have to deal with only a slight inflammation of the throat and a minimum temperature. That is why doctors very often simply diagnose acute respiratory infections, simply not noticing the infection and not prescribing the treatment necessary in this case. As a result, an untreated infection, especially when it appeared against the background of reduced immunity and repeatedly, often leads to articular rheumatism. As a result, some time after the illness (pharyngitis or tonsillitis), a person is faced with inflammation of various large joints - shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle, wrist. But the small joints of the fingers and toes are very rarely affected by this disease.

It is also characteristic that the joints do not become inflamed at the same time, but in turn. For example, at first the knee joint may become inflamed, after a few days this inflammation disappears, but a new one appears, already in another joint, then in the third, etc. It is this movement of inflammation in the joints that is a kind of "business card" of rheumatism. In this case, the inflammation of each particular joint is usually quite short-term, it rarely lasts more than 10-12 days. the problem is that such inflammations usually occur several in turn, and they cause harm not only to the joints, but also to the heart.

As a result of undertreated or untreated rheumatism, rheumatic heart disease appears, which is a rheumatic inflammation of the heart. This disease comes in three degrees of severity, while the heart muscle, membranes and valves of the heart can be involved in the process.

Forms of rheumatic heart disease

There are three forms of this disease - mild, moderate and severe.

A mild form of rheumatic heart disease affects only some local areas of the heart muscle. At the same time, the blood circulation of the heart is not disturbed, and there are simply no external manifestations of the disease, therefore it almost always goes unnoticed.

With a moderate disease, a more severe damage to the heart muscle occurs, the heart itself increases slightly in size, discomfort behind the sternum appears, fatigue, shortness of breath, a feeling of palpitations that occurs during the usual household stress.

Severe rheumatic heart disease leads to an even greater weakening of the heart, while its size increases significantly. Even at rest, the patient experiences pain in the heart, swelling may appear on the legs. As a result of this particular form of the disease, heart defects (wrinkling of the heart valves) can develop.

Another consequence of rheumatism is chorea.

Rheumatic heart disease is not the only possible consequence of rheumatism, which was not cured in time. Children can also develop chorea, which is a lesion of the nervous system. As a result, the character of the child changes somewhat, he becomes capricious, irritable, sloppy and absent-minded. Gait and handwriting change, memory and speech worsen, sleep disturbances may appear. At the same time, in the early period of the disease, this is all explained as indiscipline and capriciousness, and no one even thinks about going to the doctor. Parents begin to get nervous much later, when the child begins involuntary twitching of the muscles of the arms, legs, torso and face.

Chorea, like rheumatic inflammation itself, eventually disappears without a trace. So the most serious result of not fully cured rheumatism is rheumatic heart disease, which can lead to serious problems, up to disability. That is why it is important to diagnose and start treating this disease as early as possible, since everyone knows which doctor treats rheumatism.

The main task of the treatment of rheumatism

The main task that is set before the attending physician is the suppression of streptococcal infection, which both causes the development of the disease itself and causes its complications. When it comes to how to treat rheumatism, one of the many antibacterial agents is usually chosen, most often penicillin. At the same time, active antibiotic therapy lasts about two weeks, after which the patient receives intramuscular injections of penicillin every few weeks for another five years to prevent possible heart complications.

In recent years, "broad-spectrum" antibiotics in the form of tablets have been actively used to treat rheumatism. Such drugs (for example, erythromycin, ampicillin, oxacillin, etc.) have also shown to be highly effective.

During the period of exacerbation, various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to relieve pain. They act quickly enough and effectively eliminate pain and inflammation itself.

Rheumatism, despite its "stealth" and danger, is perfectly treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics, in most cases this is quite enough to completely eliminate the disease. But in rare cases, this treatment does not give the desired effect, then the doctor has to prescribe corticosteroid hormones. In combination with antibiotics, these drugs can relieve rheumatic inflammation in just a few days.

It is worth noting that painkillers are practically not used in the treatment of rheumatism, since their effect in this case is exclusively temporary, and they cannot suppress inflammation. If the anesthetic relieves pain, then the inflammation has not disappeared, and the person, actively moving, causes additional harm to the diseased joint.

Osteochondrosis - symptoms, treatment, signs, a complete description of the disease

The spine, no matter the neck, chest or lower back, has hurt every person at least once. Sometimes the discomfort goes away on its own, and sometimes the pain becomes persistent, developing into a serious disease of the musculoskeletal system - osteochondrosis.

Very often, tinnitus, pain radiating to the neck, are ignored, or everything a person does in such cases - painkillers, menovazin, rubbed into a sore spot, or massage done at home in the form of light pinching. All these manipulations are not able to cure the symptoms that have appeared and help only for a while. Treatment of osteochondrosis is a question that worries more than one generation of doctors and their patients. What is osteochondrosis and how to treat it are the main topics of this article.

Osteochondrosis as a disease

In order to understand what kind of disease it is, it is necessary to define it.

Osteochondrosis of the spine is a disease of the musculoskeletal system that affects individual sections of the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar) or the entire spinal column. The disease is associated with degenerative processes occurring in the intervertebral discs, which, due to metabolic and nutritional disorders, are erased and inflamed, bringing unbearable piercing pain to a person. Psychosomatics and the causes of osteochondrosis of the spine still cause controversy among leading experts in this field.

The group of the population over 40 years of age usually suffers from such problems of the spine, however, recently osteochondrosis has become “younger” and began to affect citizens no older than 30 years old (approximately 30% of the total number of patients).

Like any other disease, osteochondrosis cannot occur on its own, for no reason at all, hitting the back with acute pain. The first signs of osteochondrosis of the spine do not appear immediately, gradually.

Depending on the location of the pain, there are three types of osteochondrosis:

• cervical department;
• Thoracic;
• Lumbar.

Stages of development of osteochondrosis

In modern medicine, there are four stages of the disease:

1. The initial stage of the onset of the disease is characterized by primary disorders in the area of ​​the intervertebral disc. Usually, the fibrous ring (that is, the cartilage surrounding the vertebra) at this stage is covered with microcracks, reducing the gap between the discs.
2. The second stage follows the first. The fibrous ring, having cracks, leads to a decrease in the interdiscal lumen. The ligaments and muscles of the spine "lay" on top of each other, touch and rub. Perhaps it is at this stage of the onset of osteochondrosis that the first pain syndrome manifests itself. The attack is acute, the formation of instability of the vertebrae begins.
3. The third stage is characterized by the erasure of the cartilage lining between the discs, the thinning of the tissue is clearly visible if an x-ray is taken. The symptoms of spinal osteochondrosis are pronounced, intense, and the pain attack does not go away, and only potent painkillers can remove it.
4. The fourth stage is characterized by the adaptation of the spine to excessive instability of the vertebrae (mobility) due to bone formations - osteophytes. Osteophytes lead to injury to the nerve roots. Bone outgrowths tightly "tamp down" the vertebrae, and they remain tightly immured. As a rule, the symptoms subside, and all signs of osteochondrosis become apparent seasonally (usually spring and autumn are the peak of the disease exacerbation).

Symptoms of osteochondrosis

Symptoms of the development of osteochondrosis depend on the stage of the disease. If the first stage is a painless period, then the second, third and fourth are the phases of active manifestation of pain. In this case, the pain syndrome manifests itself in various parts of the spine. The most common symptoms of osteochondrosis include the following:

• Feeling of stiffness in movements in the morning, everything seems to be numb and numb after sleep, such phenomena usually disturb in the first stage of osteochondrosis;
• Pain and heaviness in various internal organs after a long stay in an uncomfortable position;
• Numbness of the fingertips;
• Noise in the ears, ringing;
• Periodic fainting;
• Frequent headaches and causeless increase in blood pressure;
• First, the periodic, and then the regular nature of the pain of the cervical, thoracic or lumbar;
• Sometimes the pain can be localized in one place, and give it to another (in the neck, shoulder blade, arm, heart, leg);
• Crunch in the vertebrae during movement, turns;
• The nature of the pain is sharp, penetrating.

Causes of the disease

The causes of osteochondrosis of the spine and its psychosomatics have been little studied to date. However, the fact has been proven that people are most at risk of developing osteochondrosis:

1. Elderly age.
2. With overweight, obesity.
3. Burdened by heredity.
4. Injured.
5. With metabolic disorders.
6. Abusing alcohol, tobacco and junk food.
7. Suffering from depression.
8. Little moving.

Thus, the causes of osteochondrosis are little-studied information, but aggravating factors play an important role: the age threshold, the presence of the disease in close relatives, slow metabolism, and malnutrition.

Psychosomatics of osteochondrosis

The psychosomatics of the disease has not been fully elucidated. However, there is an opinion among the people that all diseases are taken from the nerves. Overly emotional and suspicious people are more likely to suffer from diseases of the spine and joints. Based on this, we can say that psychosomatics is a range of psychological problems that led to the occurrence of osteochondrosis. These reasons include a huge list of psychological problems, including:

• Feelings of fear and loneliness;
• state of stress;
• depression;
• insomnia;
• Bad mood;
• Problems in the sexual sphere;
• mental illness;
• Nervous breakdowns.

Treatment of osteochondrosis

How to treat osteochondrosis is the main issue that worries a third of the world's population suffering from this disease. It should be noted that osteochondrosis is not a sentence, they fully live with this problem, despite the fact that it is impossible to completely restore damaged intervertebral discs. The sooner the treatment of osteochondrosis is started, the more favorable the outcome will be.

More

1. Pain relief is usually the first thing doctors do when starting treatment. For these purposes, analgesics, special ointments, patches are used.
2. After the acute attack of pain is relieved, other drugs are prescribed: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, chondroprotectors. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are traditionally prescribed in the treatment of all diseases of the musculoskeletal system, and if chondroprotectors and corticosteroids are not always prescribed, then NSAIDs are mandatory. The action of these drugs is based on the suppression of the inflammatory process in the spine, relaxation of the nerve roots that experience tension during friction. When the neurology is eliminated, continue treatment.
3. To achieve the optimal result, chondroprotectors are prescribed - substances designed to get rid of osteochondrosis by normalizing the nutrition of cartilage tissue, achieving an optimal level of synovial fluid and its normal pressure inside the vertebra. Chondroprotectors are effective agents in the treatment of not only osteochondrosis, but also other diseases of the spine and joints. If the prescribed drugs have not brought the desired result in the treatment, then corticosteroids are prescribed with great care. Plus, these drugs are fast and effective. The disadvantages are that corticosteroids have contraindications and contain hormones that disrupt the normal functioning of organ systems.

Making a correct diagnosis is complicated by the fact that the symptoms of osteochondrosis (tinnitus, crunching of the vertebrae, dizziness, headache with cervical osteochondrosis, fainting, high blood pressure) are in many ways similar to other diseases, often not associated with either the joints or the spine. That is why self-medication is dangerous for human health and life.

After medical treatment

After the pain has passed due to drug treatment, the motor activity of the spine is restored, it is too early to relax. There is a long recovery ahead. For this, the patient is prescribed:

• Ointment for joints, which has a warming and analgesic effect (Kapsicam, Finalgon, Fastum Gel, Bystrum Gel, Special ointment). Sometimes ointments can be replaced by menovazin, which also has a warming effect. Do not confuse these ointments with those that are NSAIDs, such as Voltaren, Diclofenac, Indamethacin and others.
• Therapeutic massage and gymnastics.
• Physiotherapy.
• Vitamins and minerals.
• Rest in specialized sanatoriums.
• Swimming.

Do not ignore any of the points of treatment if you want to achieve a positive result quickly and for a long time.

Important! Ointments, menovazin, massage, swimming and everything else prescribed by your doctor may be powerless if you forget that the psychosomatics of osteochondrosis plays an important role.

Positive emotions, good mood, laughter and a smile, good sleep for at least 8 hours will help to quickly cope with the symptoms of the disease.

Rules to be observed during the treatment of osteochondrosis

There are some rules for the treatment of this disease:

• Take therapeutic massage courses.
• At the slightest occurrence of discomfort in the thoracic, cervical or lumbar region, apply ointments, menovazin, patches.
• Regular gymnastics is a guarantee of vivacity and normal blood supply in tissues and vertebrae.
• Neurology is easily suppressed if you make it a rule to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in tablets or injections 2 times a year.
• Like massage, ointments, NSAID courses, physiotherapy should not be ignored, two treatment courses a year can speed up the treatment process and the course of rehabilitation.
• Normal physical activity is another factor, without which it is impossible to put an end to the question of how to treat osteochondrosis.
• It is possible to cure such a disease only if all the doctor's prescriptions are followed and attentive to one's health.
• The psychosomatics of osteochondrosis is perhaps the first in the list of reasons for its occurrence, which is why treatment must begin, first of all, with a rethinking of values ​​​​and an understanding that a good mood is the key to success.

Conclusion

The most common osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic, although there are cases when the entire spine is affected. To cure the disease, you will need a lot of patience, willpower and a desire to be healthy. And, although it is completely impossible to cure such a difficult disease, there are a sufficient number of methods that keep the vertebrae in a normal state and allow a person to lead a full-fledged lifestyle. For example, a course massage 2-3 times a year allows you to maintain the muscle corset in good condition and ensures normal blood circulation to the tissues. And the patch, vitamins, menovazin and ointments, regularly used to prevent the recurrence of osteochondrosis, make it possible to forget about pain for a long time or to stop the pain syndrome, if it occurs.

Treatment of osteochondrosis More >>

A common occurrence in osteochondrosis of the spine is neuralgia, that is, pinching of the nerve roots. It is she who is the culprit of the occurrence of backache in the neck, lower back and chest. And psychosomatics once again proves that the nervous system is not in last place among the causes of many diseases.

Treatment of osteochondrosis follows the traditional path of treating many diseases of the musculoskeletal system: NSAIDs are prescribed to eliminate the inflammatory process in tissues, chondroprotectors to restore the level of synovial fluid and corticosteroids if the first two types of drugs were ineffective.

Osteochondrosis is not a sentence; if you wish and have sufficient willpower, you can forever forget about the symptoms of this disease. It is enough to systematically observe the above rules.

Dear readers, that's all for today, leave your opinion about today's article in the comments, how you treated osteochondrosis and whether you managed to cure it.

What is rheumatism of the joints: symptoms and treatment of the legs

Rheumatism is a complex systemic disease characterized by an inflammatory process predominantly in the connective tissues of the heart and blood vessels. The disease can spread to the joints and other organs. The cause of its occurrence is an infection, the causative agent is group A hemolytic streptococcus.

The characteristic signs of acute rheumatism are most often found in children and adolescents with a genetic predisposition to this disease, aged 7 to 15 years. Geography in this case does not matter - the disease has been recorded on all continents of the globe.

But there is a direct relationship between the frequency of rheumatism among children and the socio-economic level of the country in which they live. In underdeveloped and developing countries, children suffer from this disease much more often than in developed ones. The disease is recorded in 6-22 children and adolescents per thousand of the child population here.

At the same time, the course of childhood rheumatism is usually severe, more rapid than in adults, with vivid symptoms and a tendency to develop heart defects, pulmonary hypertension, and a high mortality rate due to serious cardiac dysfunctions. This phenomenon is due to unsatisfactory social living conditions for schoolchildren, poor nutrition and poor quality medical care.

Important: the treatment of the disease is always long, sometimes it takes several years to finally get rid of its symptoms and prevent relapse.

Therefore, the conditions in which the patient is treated and lives, especially in childhood, play an important role.

Varieties and features of rheumatism

In recent years, rheumatism of the joints and other organs has been carefully studied by physicians. Two main forms of the disease have been identified: active and inactive.

1. inactive phase. Clinical and laboratory examinations of a patient with a history of rheumatism do not show the presence of an inflammatory process in the body or a significant decrease in immunity. The disease does not manifest itself in any way, the symptoms of rheumatism of the legs, hands, skin and other organs occur only after heavy physical exertion, if heart disease has developed.
2. The active phase, in turn, is classified according to three degrees of manifestations. The differences lie in the specificity of the manifestation of inflammation in certain organs and systems. Allocate the minimum degree, moderate and maximum.

1st degree rheumatism

With this form, the symptoms are very mild, only ECG and FCT can reveal some signs of carditis. The remaining laboratory parameters either do not go beyond the norm, or are slightly changed.

2nd degree rheumatism

Symptoms of carditis are moderately expressed, accompanied by an increase in subfebrile temperature, volatile polyarthralgia, chorea, monooligoarthritis. Inflammatory activity is changed only slightly.

3rd degree rheumatism

Signs of inflammatory activity are very pronounced according to the results of clinical and laboratory examinations. Diagnosed migratory polyarthritis of the knee, elbow or hip joints, pneumonia, carditis, serositis, streptococcal immunity and protein are high.

The 3rd degree of activity indicates that the disease is at an early stage or exacerbated. The 2nd and 1st degrees can be both at the beginning of the disease and during intensive treatment.

Laboratory tests are carried out repeatedly to reveal the dynamics of the disease.

According to the degree of activity, the doctor can get an accurate picture of the patient's condition and determine how effective the chosen therapy is, how long it has been carried out and how to treat joint rheumatism further.

Reasons for the development of rheumatism

To understand what rheumatism is, you need to know the causes that cause its development. The causative agent is a streptococcal infection, as was said, namely group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. In patients with a history of rheumatism of the hands, feet or heart, a blood test reveals high levels of immune anti-streptococcal antibodies.

We can say that an acute streptococcal infection in the nasopharynx or throat can provoke the development of rheumatism. Up to 3% of patients who have had purulent tonsillitis, tonsillitis or severe pharyngitis suffer from rheumatism in the future.

There may be symptoms of rheumatism of the joints or other organs, but rheumatism of the heart is most commonly diagnosed. The disease develops according to the following stages of the inflammatory process:

• Mucoid swelling;
• fibrinoid impregnation;
• cell infiltration;
• tissue sclerosis.

It has been proven that the disease can occur due to hereditary predisposition. Scientists have found that in some patients who had a streptococcal infection, the immune system began to react sharply to immune antibodies. This is the tendency to rheumatism, and it can be inherited.

Important information: at risk are those people whose relatives suffer from rheumatism of the hands, knee or hip joints, heart or skin. It can be cousins ​​or sisters, teks, grandparents, not only parents.

There are other interesting data: according to studies of genetic markers, most often the disease appears in adults and children with the 2nd or 3rd blood groups.

How to recognize the disease

The disease usually affects several organs, very rarely any one, this can be taken as the main signs of rheumatism. But first of all, the heart always suffers - the doctor diagnoses rheumatism of the connective heart tissues (myocardium) in 90% of all cases of the disease.

In adults and elderly patients, rheumatism of the joints of the legs or arms often develops, and the skin is affected. Pain in this case can be of different intensity and nature, which is why tests for rheumatism are so important.

The doctor detects characteristic symptoms several weeks after the patient has suffered an acute streptococcal infectious disease. These include:

• Very high body temperature - up to 40 degrees;
• Fever;
• General deterioration of well-being;
• Rheumatic pains in the joints;
• Pain in the region of the heart, if the disease has affected the pericardium;
• Headaches with lesions of the central nervous system;
• Heart palpitations;
• Breathlessness.

In 25% of cases, rheumatism of the joints is noted, the symptoms in this case are similar to those of polyarthritis: redness of the skin in the affected areas, swelling and swelling of the knee, elbow or hip joints, severe pain. The prescription of treatment here is selected appropriate, and should exclude pain.

Sometimes, most often in adults, a doctor can detect vasculitis, an inflammation of the small blood vessels in the brain. Such a side effect is characteristic of lesions of the rheumatism of the nervous system.

At the same time, the patient suffers from rheumatic chorea: he shows anxiety and fussiness, makes grimaces, is unable to control the movements of his arms and legs and coherently express his thoughts. This will require a comprehensive prescription therapy.

Skin rheumatism manifests itself in the form of skin erythema, rheumatic nodules may form. Erythema most often appears on the lower extremities in the form of pale pink rings. Rheumatic nodules are localized between the fingers of the hands, their structure is dense, the rash is completely painless to the touch (see photo).

This form of the disease can be treated successfully at home, a recipe for such treatment has long existed.

Treatment of rheumatism with medicines

Drug therapy for rheumatism is aimed at neutralizing the main causative agent of the disease - streptococcal infection. It can be cured with penicillin preparations - a more effective prescription does not exist today. The doctor prescribes antibiotics of the penicillin group if the disease is in the initial or acute stage. The prescription therapy has been used for a long time.

In the future, the treatment of rheumatism of the joints of the arms, back, legs continues with prolonged-acting antibiotics, the prescription involves the use of bicillin-3 or bicillin-5. In case of intolerance to antibiotics of the penicillin group, erythromycin therapy is prescribed. These drugs do not relieve pain, so the doctor always prescribes a course of additional medications, the prescription of which also contains painkillers.

Regardless of whether rheumatism of the legs, hands or heart is diagnosed, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. Usually the prescription indicates that these are non-steroidal drugs - indomethacin, aspirin, voltaren, diclofenac. The doctor selects the optimal treatment depending on the age of the patient and his physiological characteristics. A prescription is not required to purchase these medicines from a pharmacy.

Any of them stops the inflammatory process and relieves severe pain. If the pain of the arms, legs, back does not subside, the disease is treated with steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. The most common is prednisone.

Treatment must be supervised by a doctor, the duration of the course is no more than one and a half months, the prescription of therapy is also under control.

Disease prevention

Prevention of rheumatic fever is as important as the treatment itself. Doctors distinguish between primary and secondary prevention.

1. Primary prevention is aimed at ensuring that a systemic disease does not develop in a person who has a predisposition to it, but has never experienced it. An important role is played by the provision of good living and working conditions, a good night's rest and a regular, balanced diet. In addition, contact of a potential patient with carriers of streptococcal infection should be avoided. Rheumatism itself is not contagious, but a disease such as tonsillitis is transmitted by airborne droplets from one patient to another.
2. The goal of secondary prevention is to prevent relapse in a patient who has already had the disease once. To do this, first of all, it must be registered by a rheumatologist of the district clinic and regularly examined. Antibiotics, in particular bicillin, will help prevent the disease. For decades, this drug has been used to prevent the disease. Bicillin therapy sometimes lasts up to 5 years. Do not prescribe the drug for persistent circulatory failure and a tendency to thrombophlebitis. In winter, you should combine an antibiotic with vitamin C.

Methods of treatment and prevention are always determined only by the doctor, he will decide whether the measures can be carried out at home, or the patient must be placed in a hospital.

Complications of rheumatism

The disease is most dangerous for its negative effect on the heart. Heart failure is the most common cause of death.

Depending on which membranes are affected, atrial fibrillation, myocardiosclerosis, and circulatory failure may develop.

If endocarditis is affected during the development of the disease, heart disease will develop. With such a course of the disease and diagnosis, the probability of death is very high.

Another danger is frequent thromboembolism of large arteries that occurs after suffering rheumatism. Infarction of the lungs, liver, spleen, heart can also lead to the death of the patient.

Forecasts

How successful treatment will be depends largely on the timeliness of diagnosis. If therapy with a properly selected antibiotic is started at the right time, the chances of a cure are very good. But it is important that the medicine is taken precisely in the acute stage, when heart disease is formed.

Most often, children and adolescents suffer from heart complications. In adult patients, articular or skin rheumatisms are more common, which are not so dangerous and do not pose a direct threat to the patient's life.

Rheumatism: causes, symptoms and treatment of rheumatism in adults and children

What is rheumatism?

Many people ask this question. Rheumatism (Sokolsky-Buyo disease)- This is a recurrent inflammation of the connective tissue, which often occurs due to the presence of beta-hemolytic streptococci (pyogenic streptococci) in the body.

The etiology of rheumatism includes various infectious diseases, which are accompanied by severe complications and lesions of the connective tissue of most body systems.

The inflammatory process of the connective tissue, which forms various kinds of tendons, heart valves and ligaments, is not caused by pyogenic streptococci, but by pathological reactions of the immune system. Subsequently, immune aseptic inflammation develops.

Causes of rheumatism

The development of rheumatism begins a few weeks after the infection enters the body, which is caused by beta-hemolytic streptococci of the second type. Causes of rheumatism include:

• young age of the patient. Adolescents are more susceptible to rheumatism, and this disease is less common in adults and young children;
• unfavorable social conditions (unsanitary conditions, etc.);
• severe hypothermia;
• malnutrition (lack of useful vitamins and minerals in the diet);
• various allergic reactions;
• heredity;

Provoking factors for the development of rheumatism

In addition to the causes of rheumatism, there are certain factors that provoke the development of inflammation. The occurrence of inflammation can cause some infectious diseases:

• - inflammation of the tissues of the mastoid process, the auditory tube and the tympanic cavity;
• or chronic tonsillitis - an acute infectious disease that affects the tonsils. The causative agents of the disease are viruses, fungi, bacteria, etc.;
• - an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes (group A hemolytic streptococcus). Manifested by rashes on the skin, severe intoxication, fever, redness of the throat, tongue, etc .;
• puerperal fever - a common name for several diseases caused by infectious infection during childbirth;
• group A beta-hemolytic streptococci;
• is a chronic, infectious and often relapsing disease. The cause of the occurrence is group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. It is manifested by reddening of the skin, more often on the face or lower leg.

According to statistics, 97% of patients who have had a streptococcal infection develop immunity, but in other people a protective reaction may not form and subsequently infection appears as a complication in the form of a rheumatic attack.

Symptoms of rheumatism

The symptomatology of the disease is polymorphic and dependent on the activity of inflammation, the degree of its severity, and involvement in the process of internal organs. Symptoms of rheumatism are directly related to streptococcal infection. The development of the inflammatory process lasts for two weeks.

The main symptoms of rheumatic fever are:

• subfebrile temperature (up to 39 ° C) often occurs in children;
• fatigue, weakness;
• headaches turning into migraines;

Also, in addition to the classic symptoms of rheumatism, some manifestations may appear. These include:​

• - pain in large or medium joints. Arthralgia happens:
  • multiple;
  • symmetrical;
  • flying.

• swelling;
• skin redness (see photo above);
• high body temperature;
• severe limitation of movement of the affected joints.

• - one of the most common systemic inflammatory manifestations of rheumatism of the joints. Usually refers to manifestations of rheumatism of the hands, but it has a benign character. After a few days, the pain subsides, but minor discomfort can persist for a long time;
• rheumatic carditis- a manifestation of active rheumatism, leading to the occurrence of organic heart disease. Violation of the heart is observed in adults (80%). With rheumatic carditis, an inflammatory process develops in all membranes of the heart;

Symptoms of rheumatic carditis include

• pain in the region of the heart;
• heart palpitations;
• palpitations;
• strong;
• general malaise, fatigue and lethargy.

Often with rheumatic heart disease, the endocardium, myocardium and pericardium are simultaneously affected.

It is possible to isolate the affected myocardium (). In any case, the myocardium is involved in the inflammatory process.

With rheumatism, damage to the central nervous system is possible. In this case, a peculiar sign is rheumatic chorea - a rare disorder of motor function, due to rheumatic fever. can cause complications in children. With rheumatic chorea, hyperkinesis occurs - muscle weakness, mental instability, impulsive twitching of some muscles.

Skin lesions are much less common:

• subcutaneous rheumatic nodules- dense to the touch, painless, round in shape and inactive neoplasms. They can be both single and multiple, localized in large or medium joints with rheumatism of the legs;
• erythema annulare- infectious-allergic disease. Annular erythema occurs in 12% of patients with rheumatism and is manifested by an annular rash - a light pink ring-shaped rash.

With rheumatism, damage to the lungs, abdominal cavity, kidneys and limbs (legs and hands) is not excluded. But today, damage to internal organs is rare. Rheumatic lesions of organs and limbs have their own clinical picture:

• lung injury. The course takes place in the form of pleurisy, diffuse carditis and rheumatic pneumonia;
• kidney damage. During the analysis, protein, erythrocytes are observed in the patient's urine, which indicates nephritis - a group of inflammatory diseases of the kidneys that have different clinical and pathomorphological specifics with different etiopathogenesis;
• damage to the abdominal organs characterized by the development of abdominal pain syndrome. The syndrome manifests itself:
  • acute pain in the abdomen
  • frequent vomiting
  • acute rheumatic fever in children and severe tension of the muscular system of the abdominal cavity.

Recurrent rheumatic attacks occur due to hypothermia, various infections and physical exertion. The course of the process is due to the symptoms of heart lesions.

• Rheumatism of the legs. It develops due to streptococcal infection and is a complication that affects the lower extremities. The joints are affected, the amount of intra-articular fluid increases. If left untreated, rheumatism of the legs may result in loss of motor activity;
• rheumatism of the hands. It is manifested by swelling of the fingers, redness and a noticeable increase in temperature over the diseased joint. To verify the rheumatism of the hands, it is necessary to bend and unbend the fingers. If it is difficult to do such an exercise and soreness appears, then this is a sign of rheumatism.

Classification of rheumatism

Rheumatism is a disease with a complex pathogenesis. In addition to various symptoms, rheumatism is divided into phases, stages of connective tissue damage and the degree of dynamism of the inflammatory process. Rheumatism is divided into two phases: active and inactive. They are determined after studying all the symptoms and laboratory results.

• active phase. Initially, the patient begins a rheumatic attack and can be both primary (first occurring) and secondary (relapses of the disease). Primary rheumatism in children is more common than in adults. The classic sign of rheumatism in the first phase is body temperature, which is why the phase is also called rheumatic fever. The clinical manifestations of rheumatism in the first phase include:
  • rheumatic heart disease;
  • rheumatic.

In addition to the above manifestations in the first phase, there are changes in the laboratory blood test. Sharply, significantly, streptococcal antibodies and serum immunoglobulins.

Depending on the severity of the inflammatory process, it is divided into 3 degrees of dynamism:

1. Minimum. The first degree has a favorable course. Clinical symptoms are mild, may develop a small chorea or protracted latent rheumatic heart disease. In this case, the motor function is not disturbed, and the body temperature rises slightly or remains within the normal range. On the electrocardiogram, any changes are hardly noticeable;
2. Moderate. The second degree is characterized by moderately severe symptoms. Usually this is chorea, moderate polyarthritis, mild symptoms of rheumatic carditis with minor circulatory failure. Skin rashes are possible. Internal organs are not affected. In a laboratory blood test, a high (from 20 to 40 mm) is revealed, a slight leukocytosis, streptococcal antibodies double;
3. Maximum. Signs of rheumatism at the maximum degree are considered severe. The active phase of the 3rd degree often occurs during the first rheumatic attack. Body temperature reaches 40 ° C, accompanied by pronounced signs of rheumatic heart disease, the presence of exudate in the inflamed focus and impaired blood flow. Damage to internal organs and joints occurs, severe skin rashes and rheumatic pains appear. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is more than 40 mm, neutrophilic leukocytosis is observed (the reaction of white bodies in the blood to various inflammatory processes), streptococcal antibodies are exceeded and a high level of C-reactive protein.

The inactive phase, another name is the remission of the disease. When signs of rheumatism do not appear within 1 year, only then can we talk about remission. At this time, the patient's condition is satisfactory, there are no signs of rheumatism of the joints, the work of the heart is not disturbed, and there are no complaints. The blood test results are completely normal. To date, many experts argue that the absence of relapses for five years gives a chance for a favorable prognosis of rheumatism.

In addition to the phases of the disease, there are stages of changes in the connective tissue. There are 4 stages of change:

1. Stage of mucoid swelling. Puffiness and branching of connective tissue fibers appear. The fibers accumulate acidic mucopolysaccharides with osmatic properties that attract a lot of water. Locally, mucoid swelling is located in the membranes of the heart and is considered a reversible process;
2. Stage of fibrinoid swelling. At the end of this stage, the changes acquire an irreversible process, as a result of which necrosis develops (tissue death in the body). Before this, the fibers are completely destroyed, followed by the release of fibrinogen and the transformation of the lesion into a structureless area with fibrinoid masses. The result of this pathological process is fibrinoid necrosis of the connective tissue;
3. Granulomatosis. This stage is characterized by the formation of a granuloma with a necrotic center in the focus. Around the granuloma begins the accumulation of large cells - mast, fibroblasts and lymphocytes. The main place where granulomas form is the valves and joints;
4. sclerotic stage. At the last stage of connective tissue changes, the inflammatory process ends. Affected cells are replaced by scar tissue with a complete loss of functioning.

Diagnosis of rheumatism

Diagnosis of rheumatism relies on confirmation of the presence of streptococcal infection in the body, as well as on the study of large and small manifestations of the disease. Major manifestations are: chorea, carditis, rheumatic nodules and erythema. Minor manifestations are divided into:

• clinical (arthralgia, fever, etc.);
• laboratory (C-reactive protein positive, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, leukocytosis).

Instrumental diagnostics (electrocardiography, radiography, ultrasound examination of the heart) are also used.

Confirmatory evidence that streptococcal infection is the cause of the inflammatory process is: high titers of streptococcal antibodies, bacteriological culture from the throat of beta-hemolytic streptococci of the second type, and recent infectious diseases.

Thanks to the radiograph of the lungs, it is possible to determine a decrease in the ability of myocardial contraction, an increase in the size of the heart and a change in its shadow. An ultrasound examination is also carried out, with its help defects are detected.

Treatment of rheumatism

In the active phase of rheumatism, urgent hospitalization of the patient is necessary. Diagnosis and treatment of rheumatism are carried out by a rheumatologist and a cardiologist. To eliminate the alleged infectious foci, antibacterial and instrumental methods of treatment are used.

Medical treatment for rheumatism

For the treatment of rheumatism, various means of different types, groups and classes are used. Preparations for the treatment and prevention of rheumatism are as follows:

• hyposensitizing (astemizol, peritol, trexil, fenistil);
• hormonal corticosteroids (cortomycetin, prednisolone, kenacort, kenalog);
• (denebol, diclofenac, artrum, ketanol, novigan);
• immunosuppressants (apremilast, leflunomide, pirfenidone, teriflunomide);
• gamma globulins (special injections that stimulate special protective functions of the body);
• anti-inflammatory drugs (brufen, indomethacin, voltaren, amidopyrine).

Antibiotics from the penicillin series are prescribed as auxiliary medicines for rheumatism of the joints. To prevent possible recurrences of rheumatism in the fall and spring, a prophylactic course lasting 1 month is carried out with the help of.

The combination of medications and other pharmacological agents depends on the severity of the disease and the involvement of internal organs in the inflammatory process. In the case of persistent rheumatism of the joints, intra-articular injections are used. Symptoms and treatment are closely related, since without studying the symptoms it is impossible to prescribe effective therapy.

Surgical intervention

For the operation, the decisive factor is the patient's complaints, especially for various functional disorders and pain. Very often, conservative methods do not give the expected result, and in this case, only surgical intervention will help.

All inflammatory and rheumatic diseases primarily affect the tendons, joints and cervical spine. Before planning and proceeding with the operation, the surgeon shows the patient the upcoming picture of the surgical intervention, warns of the possible risk and subsequent prognosis.

Additional treatments for rheumatism

In addition to drug therapy and surgery, there are many alternative treatments for rheumatism. But it is worth remembering that the choice of methods must be approached carefully and carefully.

Nutrition

Rheumatic people need to balance their diet so that the diet contains a maximum of protein and a minimum of carbohydrates. It is better to eat food in portions and in small quantities six times a day.

Useful foods for rheumatism include:

• Dairy products contain calcium salts, which have an anti-inflammatory effect;
• Vegetables and fruits. These products contain a high content of vitamin P, which is responsible for the normalization of capillaries and general cleansing of the body. Also, other vitamins exclude the development of beriberi, which is one of the causes of rheumatism. Salts help regulate metabolism;
• Olive oil, nuts and avocados are rich in vitamin E, which is responsible for the movement of affected joints;
• Chicken eggs, brewer's yeast, fish oil contain selenium, which relieves pain. Eggs contain sulfur, which contributes to the integrity of cell membranes;
• Fish (mainly mackerel, sardines, salmon) is useful because it contains omega-3 acid, which relieves inflammation;
• Liquid. A rheumatic person should drink about 1 liter of liquid per day, it can be tea, ordinary water or juice.

Folk remedies

Various decoctions, compresses, mixtures, etc. can help in the treatment of rheumatism. Traditional medicine includes:

• Useful onion broth. 3 small onions per liter of water, cook for about 25 minutes. Take morning and evening on an empty stomach;
• Raw potato compress. It is necessary to peel the potatoes, mash them into a pulp, put them on a cloth and apply to the sore spot overnight. At this time, the patient should be warm;
• Fresh onion compress. Grind the onion to gruel, apply to sore joints 3 times a day for 15 minutes;
• Aspen tar and vodka. 5 drops of tar diluted with 50 ml of vodka (50%), taken every day for a month at night;
• Purified potato juice. Take a tablespoon before meals. Potato juice effectively cleanses the body. The course of treatment should be at least four weeks;
• Tincture of lingonberry leaves. Pour a tablespoon of crushed leaves with 200 ml of boiling water, leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Take three times a day for 1 tablespoon.

Exercises

In order to expand the motor regime, it is necessary to engage in cycling, hiking and swimming more often. It is especially useful in rheumatism of the legs.

Physical therapy must be strictly observed, a set of exercises will help improve blood circulation and prevent the formation of rheumatic nodules. Movements must be performed with a moderate amplitude. Imitations of exercises, games and game tasks are also useful, especially for rheumatism in children.

Higher education (Cardiology). Cardiologist, therapist, functional diagnostics doctor. I am well versed in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system. Graduated from the academy (full-time), has a lot of work experience behind her.

Specialty: Cardiologist, Therapist, Doctor of Functional Diagnostics.

Rheumatism is called a systemic disease, accompanied by an inflammatory process in the connective tissues of the joints and the cardiovascular system. The reason that causes it is the presence of a streptococcal infection in the body.

Rheumatism begins with an acute streptococcal infection of the nasopharyngeal region. The toxic manifestation of streptococci has a damaging effect on the immune system and causes inflammation of the valves of the heart and myocardium. The tonsils are also often the source of infection. The inflammatory process begins. As a result of the struggle of the immune system with the manifestations of chronic tonsillitis, antibodies are produced in the body that negatively affect the tissues of the joints and heart. The development of this disease is also influenced by genetic

Symptoms of rheumatism

Rheumatism most often develops in children at school age, much less often in preschool, almost never in children under 3 years of age.

It is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Fever, intoxication, painful conditions of the joints a few weeks after suffering a sore throat and pharyngitis;
• Rheumatoid arthritis involving medium and large joints;
• Pain in the heart, shortness of breath with cardiac disorders;
• A state of increased fatigue and malaise;
• There are also annular rashes in the form of pink rims and subcutaneous rheumatoid nodes in severe forms of rheumatism.

Symptoms of rheumatism manifestation depend on the place of its localization:

• The joints are affected symmetrically, the disease is accompanied by swelling, pain. The use of nonsteroidal drugs helps to reduce inflammation.
• With damage to the nervous system, chorea develops, characterized by increased muscle tone. Outwardly, this is manifested in twitches, grimaces.
• Clusters of small ring-shaped rashes (erythema) may form on the skin. Rheumatic nodules appear in the subcutaneous layers. They are painless, inactive, dense to the touch.
• Rheumatic pleurisy occurs when the pleura becomes inflamed. It is manifested by pain with a deep breath, the appearance of shortness of breath and cough, increased body temperature.
• In the presence of inflammation in the region of the heart, a person feels a pulling pain, tachycardia, palpitations may appear. In the future, the boundaries of the heart expand, signs of heart failure appear.

Diagnosis of rheumatism

Rheumatism can be diagnosed in the following ways:

• ECG reveals arrhythmic disorders;
• Ultrasound will show a complete picture of the state of the heart;
• An x-ray can show a decrease in myocardial contraction, a change in the shape of the heart;
• Laboratory blood tests: the content of erythrocytes, leukocytes, ESR, antibodies and other important indicators.

To diagnose rheumatism, the doctor conducts a patient survey. At the reception, the specialist finds out the complaints, the nature of the pain, the time of its appearance, the accompanying symptoms. A blood test, X-ray and ultrasound examinations are mandatory. To identify specific antibodies, "rheumatic tests" are carried out. A more accurate diagnosis is helped by ECG and Echo-KG. Based on all the studies carried out, conclusions are made and a diagnosis is made.

Treatment of rheumatism

It is based on a set of measures aimed at eliminating streptococcal infection, reducing inflammation, preventing the formation or progressive development of heart disease.

The complex includes the following stages:

• The initial stage is inpatient drug treatment with a special diet and exercise therapy. Medicines are prescribed as follows: antibiotics to suppress infection, NSAIDs to eliminate rheumatoid inflammation, as well as prednisolone and quinoline drugs;
• The second stage is a sanatorium treatment for a full remission and restoration of all functions of the heart and blood vessels. In a specialized sanatorium, chronic infections are treated, therapeutic exercises and hardening procedures are carried out;
• The third stage is observation in the clinic in the dispensary mode for the prevention of relapses and the progress of the disease. Periodic antibiotic therapy is prescribed, outpatient examination 2 times a year.

Prevention of rheumatism

Preventive measures are primary and secondary.

Primary prevention includes:

• Strengthening the immune forces of the body;
• Timely treatment of streptococcal infections;
• Prevention in children at risk: children with a genetic predisposition, often ill children.

Secondary prevention includes:

• increasing the body's resistance (health regimen, physical education, hardening, proper nutrition);
• bicillin prophylaxis (to prevent streptococcal infection);
• long-term antirheumatic therapy with NSAIDs;
• treatment of chronic infections.

How to cure rheumatism?

Remember that timely treatment completely removes the risk of primary heart damage.

The choice of method of treatment and drugs is carried out individually in each case. In severe cases, surgery may be required. Professional treatment is aimed at performing anti-inflammatory therapy, restoring the functioning of the immune system, organizing proper nutrition, and selecting a balanced physical activity. Recovery procedures in specialized sanatoriums give a good result. Prevention of rheumatism is carried out by increasing the body's resistance through hardening and moderate physical activity.

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What is rheumatoid arthritis

Modern diagnostics can now easily determine rheumatoid arthritis even at the initial stages. However, often in district consultations it is suggested at the very last moment, when there is already a deformity of the joints.

​Pour 1 teaspoon of club club herb with 2 cups of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, strain. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day after meals. As an analgesic and sedative for neuralgia, rheumatoid joint lesions.

1. Determining how to treat joint rheumatism, you need to talk about the basic principles of disease therapy:
2. 3. Stage III of the complex therapy of rheumatism provides for the prevention of relapses and progression of the disease.​
3. Rarer symptoms of rheumatism include annular rash and rheumatic nodules.

A series.

As a result of undertreated or untreated rheumatism, rheumatic heart disease appears, which is a rheumatic inflammation of the heart. This disease comes in three degrees of severity, while the heart muscle, membranes and valves of the heart may be involved in the process.

We take 20 gr. tansy flowers and pour a glass of boiling water, then insist for about an hour and drink 1 tbsp. three times a day.

overwork;

Rheumatism what is it?

The treatment of rheumatism is based on the early appointment of complex therapy aimed at suppressing streptococcal infection and the activity of the inflammatory process, as well as preventing the development or progression of heart disease.

Rheumatism is also treated at home with the help of pine needles cut in the spring, or rather, in May. Pine needles fill a liter bottle and fill them with alcohol.

Treatment with this drug can be started after 21 days. Up to this point, the medicine should be infused.

8 drops of infusion are applied to a piece of sugar and taken orally half an hour before meals. This procedure is repeated three times a day, the treatment of the disease in this way lasts about six months.

In the period of exacerbation, various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to relieve pain. They act quickly enough and effectively eliminate pain and inflammation itself.

Pour two cups of boiling water over a teaspoon of wormwood herb, then leave for an hour, take two tablespoons twice a day, adding a little honey to them.

Symptoms of rheumatism

Pour 200 ml of vodka 30 gr. yellow acacia leaves, leave for a week, take 20 drops three times a day.

by contacting a doctor. If the patient does not visit a doctor in time, or if the treatment of the disease is not started in time, rheumatic fever becomes chronic when a heart defect is formed, which over time can lead to the development of heart failure (swelling of the legs, shortness of breath, palpitations, arrhythmia, liver enlargement, etc.).

d.). Basically, the provoking moments are hypothermia, chronic infections, especially the defeat of the tonsils.

In medicine, many diseases are similar in symptoms, psychosomatics, etymology. For example, it is quite difficult to distinguish between diseases such as polyarthritis, arthritis, arthrosis and rheumatism without additional research.

This is due to the fact that the treatment and signs of rheumatism, arthritis and arthrosis are somewhat similar and one main task is pursued - to maintain mobility, stop degenerative processes in the tissues of the joint, stop pain and relieve inflammation. Despite all this, differences in arthrosis still exist.

• Arthrosis as a disease of the joints
  • Causes of destruction of the cartilage joint
  • Psychosomatics of degenerative joint diseases
• Symptoms of the disease
  • Features of the treatment of arthrosis
• How to cure arthrosis with conservative methods
• How to cure arthrosis with surgical methods

Arthrosis as a disease of the joints

Arthrosis is a disease that is associated with degenerative infections of the cartilage tissue in the joint and its destruction, due to which the immobility of two parts of the joint disappears. In other words, the joint has two parts connected to each other by cartilaginous tissue, tendons and ligaments, softening shocks during movement and lubricates the surface due to the synovial fluid secreted.

Rheumatism is a diffuse connective tissue disease with an autoimmune mechanism of development, a predominant lesion of the membranes of the heart and joints, which develops after an acute streptococcal infection in predisposed individuals. The peak incidence occurs at the age of 7-15 years, respectively, children have to be treated more often. Women get sick 2.5-3 times more often than men.

Rheumatism of the joints has been known since ancient times. Descriptions of this disease can be found in the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Sydenham. Until 1881, rheumatism was considered a disease only of the joints, and damage to the heart and other internal organs was regarded as a complication.

Today, it is precisely established that rheumatic damage occurs simultaneously in the membranes of the joints and the heart, therefore the appointment of early diagnosis and therapy (etiotropic, pathogenetic and symptomatic) allows you to defeat the pathology and prevent the development of complications, in particular the formation of heart disease.

Rheumatism of the joints is only an external manifestation of the pathology. Despite the pronounced signs of inflammation, joint damage does not pose a danger to the health and life of the patient.

You should be afraid of damage to the heart. But articular syndrome is precisely the sign that allows early detection of pathology and prevention of heart damage.

Therefore, every person who cares about his health should know the symptoms of joint damage in rheumatism. This article is devoted to this aspect of the disease.

Causes

Rheumatism is included in the group of difficult to understand diseases - autoimmune systemic lesions. Science has not yet fully figured out the true causes of these diseases. But there is scientific evidence that shows a clear relationship between rheumatism and streptococcal infection (group A streptococci).

The following data testify to the streptococcal etiology of the rheumatic process:

• the first attack of rheumatism occurs in the period after a streptococcal infection - tonsillitis, pharyngitis, streptoderma, etc. (the first symptoms usually develop after 10-14 days);
• morbidity increases with epidemic outbreaks of respiratory infections;
• increase in the titer of antistreptococcal antibodies in the blood of patients.

Streptococcal etiology most often have classic forms of rheumatism, which occur with obligatory damage to the joints of the legs and arms. But there are cases when the primary attack of the disease proceeds hidden and without damage to the articular apparatus. The cause of such variants of the disease are other pathogens, respiratory viruses will play a large role.

In such cases, the disease is often diagnosed already at the stage of a formed heart disease. Therefore, articular rheumatism is a kind of warning to the body that something has gone wrong and it is necessary to act.

Individual sensitivity to an infectious agent also plays an important role, because not everyone who has a sore throat develops rheumatism. Here the genetic predisposition of a person plays a role, as well as the individual characteristics of the immune system, its tendency to hyperactivation with the development of allergic and autoimmune reactions.

It is very difficult to explain the mechanism of damage to the membranes of the joints and heart in rheumatic inflammation. By some mechanism, pathogenic microorganisms “force” the human immune system to “work against itself”.

As a result, autoantibodies are formed that affect the own membranes of the joints with the development of rheumatoid arthritis and the membranes of the heart with the development of rheumatic heart disease, resulting in the formation of heart defects.

It is important to know! Rheumatism ranks first among the causes of acquired heart defects. And it is young people who suffer the most.

Classification

The first thing to clarify is that the term “rheumatism” was changed to “rheumatic fever” in 2003, but in modern literature you can find 2 names of the disease. There are 2 clinical variants of the disease:

1. Acute rheumatic fever.
2. Recurrent (repeated) rheumatic fever (according to the old classification, a recurrent attack of rheumatic fever).

It is also mandatory to determine the activity of inflammation using a set of laboratory tests (inactive phase, minimal, medium and high activity).

In the case of the formation of heart disease, rheumatic heart disease is isolated separately with the definition of its type and stage, as well as the stage of heart failure.

Symptoms

Signs of rheumatism are very diverse and depend primarily on the activity of the process and the damage to various organs. As a rule, a person becomes ill 2-3 weeks after a respiratory infection. The disease begins with an increase in temperature to high values, general malaise, signs of an intoxication syndrome, sharp pains in the joints of the arms or legs.

Symptoms of joint damage in rheumatism:

• rheumatic pains in the joints are characterized by severe intensity, as a rule, the pain is so severe that patients do not move even a millimeter of the affected limb;
• joint damage is asymmetric;
• as a rule, large joints are drawn into the pathological process;
• pain is characterized by a symptom of migration (gradually, one after another, all the large joints of the body hurt);
• the joints swell, the skin over them becomes red and hot to the touch;
• movement in the joints is limited due to pain.

Causes of the development of rheumatoid arthritis

The exact causes of the onset of the disease are unknown, and this makes deforming arthritis not only dangerous, but also a mysterious disease. Scientists only assume that it can become a trigger mechanism for immune failure.

Interestingly, a close relationship was noted between the onset of the disease and changes in hormonal status and human physiology. Thus, rheumatoid arthritis often affects adolescents and women in the postpartum and menopausal periods.

Among the likely causes of rheumatoid arthritis, doctors name the following:

• allergy;
• injury;
• viral infection;
• bacterial infection;
• weakening of the immune system;
• violation of metabolic processes;
• severe or chronic stress;
• constant hypothermia.

Regarding the genetic nature of the disease, scientists do not have a consensus. There are cases when arthritis became a family disease.

People whose genes contain a pathological immune failure program will answer the question of whether arthritis is treated in the negative. But to tell how father, grandfather, mother suffered from arthritis can easily.

However, there is a lot of evidence that the disease developed in those who did not have a genetic predisposition to inflammation of the joints.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

The disease really affects people of all ages: one day a one-year-old baby, and a 70-year-old person can become a patient of a rheumatologist. But according to statistics, women from 35 to 45 years of age are most susceptible to the disease. Some people think that arthritis has no cure. But it is not so.

The mechanism of the development of the disease is not accidentally associated with the concept of "autoimmune", that is, directed at oneself. We are talking about an immune failure, when lymphocyte cells suddenly begin to destroy not "strangers" (viruses, fungi, cancer cells, bacteria), but "their own", that is, the cells of the human body. When the joints become affected, rheumatoid arthritis develops.

Pour lilac flowers with vodka in a ratio of 1:10. Insist in a sealed container for 8-10 days and strain. Take for rheumatism 30 drops 2-3 times a day and at the same time rub sore spots or make a compress from the same tincture.

Heavy.

Rheumatism is most often manifested by damage to the joints (arthritis develops) and the heart (carditis). A typical onset of the disease is the appearance of signs of arthritis 2-4 weeks after an acute or exacerbation of a chronic streptococcal infection (tonsillitis, pharyngitis, SARS), or symptoms of carditis, but after 3-6 weeks.

Non-traditional and folk remedies for the treatment of rheumatism

home remedies for rheumatism

Description

There are main manifestations of the disease, in the presence of 2 of which, determined during the initial examination, a diagnosis of rheumatism is made in the medical record.

temperature increase of unknown origin

Basic methods of diagnosis and treatment

The initial symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can be easily confused by a non-specialist with manifestations of other diseases, sometimes not related to the joints. On the other hand, if the knee hurts a lot, this does not mean that the pain is caused by arthritis.

It is not always possible to diagnose an ailment on the basis of a visual examination. After the initial appointment, the therapist sends the patient to a rheumatologist, who prescribes laboratory tests:

• biochemical and general blood test;
• blood test for C-reactive protein, ACCP and ESR;
• rheumatoid factor test;
• radiography.

The attending physician, based on the data obtained, will determine the degree of damage to the joints and prescribe adequate treatment. It can only be complex. How to get rid of the disease? The main ways to cure it are as follows:

• medicinal preparations;
• external painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs (ointments, gels, creams);
• homeopathic remedies;
• physiotherapy;
• special sparing diet;
• hirudotherapy.

In most cases, arthritis cannot be completely cured because the patient is taking too long to visit the doctor. In difficult cases with significant destruction of the joint, a surgical method of treatment is used. Sometimes this is the only way to alleviate the suffering of the patient, restore joint mobility, and relieve constant pain.

Symptoms of rheumatism strongly resemble manifestations of other diseases. A rheumatologist will be able to establish the correct diagnosis after collecting anamnesis and examination, examination.

The examination usually includes the following methods:

• general, biochemical, immunological blood tests
• electrocardiography (ECG)
• chest x-ray
• ECHO-cardiography (ultrasound of the heart)

Basic therapy as a way to cure

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis should begin with basic therapy. The effect is noticeable after a couple of months, today it is a way to cure the disease. Preparations that make up the basic therapy:

There are cures for rheumatoid arthritis. The point is behind the regularity of taking drugs, the constant supervision of a doctor. Treatment of the disease is the desire of the patient to get better. If there is no faith in healing, it is difficult to achieve a positive result. Depression, stress - disease provocateurs, should be excluded through a psychologist.

Is it possible to cure arthritis of the knee joint, fingers, feet, neck, jaw area? With an integrated approach to treatment, it is possible.

The main method of drug treatment used in modern medical practice is the method of basic therapy. It consists in prescribing a complex of anti-inflammatory immunological, antibacterial drugs to the patient. The treatment regimen includes:

• basic immunosuppressive drugs: hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, leflunomide, azathioprine, D-penicillamine, gold salts, cyclosporine;
• anti-inflammatory drugs: nimesulide, meloxicam, celecoxib;
• antibiotics: minocycline, etc.

Don't expect a quick effect. The essence of drug treatment is to reduce the pathological activity of immune system cells, relieve inflammation and reduce pain. The treatment regimen should be selected individually, taking into account the tolerability of drugs.

Important: serious relief can come by the end of the third or even the sixth month from the start of drug therapy. But such a long-term treatment is the only way to a stable remission and even a complete cure.

Anyone who doubts the effectiveness of the methods of official medicine is mistaken. There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis.

If you turn to an experienced rheumatologist in a timely manner, follow the prescribed treatment regimen, do not skip medication, you can be cured. Another question is whether rheumatoid arthritis can be cured forever.

It is not by chance that the disease is considered insidious: it can subside for a while, and under the influence of external (cold, dampness, injury) or internal (fear, stress) factors, it can reappear.

An interesting method of treatment is homeosiniatry. How to cure rheumatoid arthritis in this way? By injecting microscopic doses of drugs into biologically active points on the patient's body. The method is effective because it is possible to quickly deliver the drug into the tissues. As a result, metabolic processes are restored, recovery is faster.

Joint health depends on the state of the body. All patients want to go the simple way, to entrust their health to drugs without doing anything. If you limit yourself to products that do not bring health benefits, you can improve the processes in the body. There is no diet for rheumatoid arthritis. There are nutritional recommendations that enhance treatment, avoid side effects from taking medications.

It is important to abandon foods that are bad for the joints:

• Flour products, sweet pastries, chocolate.
• Animal fats, fatty meats.
• Milk.
• Citrus.
• Oatmeal.
• Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant.

Eliminate foods that adversely affect the kidneys, liver. These vital organs receive a load from taking medications that make up the treatment, you should not overload them with harmful, heavy foods:

• Canned food.
• Fried food.
• Smoked products.
• Alcoholic drinks.
• Foods containing cholesterol.
• Hot spices.
• Salty food.

Health Benefits Products:

• Olive oil.
• Nuts.
• Sea fish.

Steam food, bake in the oven, without adding oil. Use vitamins, biologically active food supplements, it is not always possible to consume foods rich in essential micro and macro elements.

• Calcium is essential for strong bones and joints. If you do not consume the proper amount of dairy products, lead to a deterioration in well-being, take calcium supplements.
• In order for calcium to be absorbed by the body, vitamin D is needed. Fish oil contains a record amount of vitamin D.
• Collagen is useful for strengthening cartilage. Contained in gelatin, nutritional supplements with collagen.
• Vitamins of groups B, C, E are useful in rheumatoid arthritis. Promote tissue regeneration, support the body in good shape during the treatment period.

The main task that is set before the attending physician is the suppression of streptococcal infection, which both causes the development of the disease itself and causes its complications. When it comes to how to treat rheumatism, one of the many antibacterial agents is usually chosen, most often penicillin.

At the same time, active antibiotic therapy lasts about two weeks, after which the patient receives intramuscular injections of penicillin every few weeks for another five years to prevent possible heart complications.

In recent years, "broad-spectrum" antibiotics in the form of tablets have been actively used to treat rheumatism. Such drugs (for example, erythromycin, ampicillin, oxacillin, etc.) have also shown to be highly effective.

During the period of exacerbation, various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to relieve pain. They act quickly enough and effectively eliminate pain and inflammation itself.

Rheumatism, despite its "stealth" and danger, is perfectly treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics, in most cases this is quite enough to completely eliminate the disease.

But in rare cases, this treatment does not give the desired effect, then the doctor has to prescribe corticosteroid hormones. In combination with antibiotics, these drugs can relieve rheumatic inflammation in just a few days.

Early treatment helps prevent the irreversible effects of rheumatoid arthritis. There are now many good remedies that are being used successfully for arthritis. There is one important rule in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: if such a diagnosis is made, treatment and prevention of exacerbations should be dealt with constantly, turning to a rheumatologist once every six months.

Drug treatment is prescribed by a doctor and only by him.

Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a serious disease that affects the joints. Without treatment, a person quickly becomes disabled, but even with therapy, the disease does not always stop. Is it possible to recover from this pathology completely?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a poorly understood disease. Even from the point of view of modern medicine. Is it possible to cure arthritis forever - a question that torments millions of patients around the world.

According to statistics, arthritis in one form or another affects every hundredth inhabitant of the Earth. The vast majority of patients are elderly, but the disease is getting younger every year.

In the medical literature, this diagnosis refers to a systemic disease of the connective tissue. It is manifested in most cases by inflammation of the joints. This inflammation is chronic. Joints are at particular risk of damage:

• ankles;
• knees;
• Ankle.

In old age, arthritis can manifest itself as a lesion of the hands. To the point where every movement hurts. Medicine still cannot answer the question of whether arthritis is treated. It is believed that it is necessary to avoid various risk factors that can provoke the onset of the disease:

• hypothermia;
• Joint injuries;
• Infections.

Taking care of your own body will not be superfluous and may reduce the risk of arthritis, but nothing more. Medicine is powerless to identify at least one proven cause.

The spectrum of cases is so diverse that there is still no specific answer. It is clear that a single hypothermia in 99 percent of cases will not lead to the development of arthritis.

The vast majority have no global health problems at all.

One thing is certain - arthritis is a disease that mostly affects the elderly. The dynamics change every year. Young people get sick more, but the percentage of age-related patients remains high and makes up two-thirds of all cases of rheumatoid arthritis.

Consequences of rheumatoid arthritis

A common misconception is that there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis. To some extent, this is a correct statement.

Can arthritis be cured? This disease is not classified as fatal, but is considered difficult to cure.

In order to get rid of it, you need to be treated long and hard. Moreover, this treatment should be comprehensive.

The sooner you start fighting this disease, the more likely you are to get rid of it forever.

Arthritis: its properties and manifestations

Arthritis is the collective name for diseases that affect the joints. Moreover, arthritis can be an independent disease, or it can be part of or a consequence of any other disease.

This disease affects a person's ability to move and do work. With a strong transformation of the joints, a person loses his ability to work and becomes disabled.

All types of arthritis are accompanied by pain (aching, acute, constant, intermittent). At a certain stage of development of this disease appear:

• redness of the skin in the joint area;
• change in the shape of the joint and limb, especially in the area of ​​the hand;
• crunch in the joint when moving;
• feeling of physical weakness;
• difficulty in moving the joints in the morning, that is, after prolonged immobility.

Be sure to consult your doctor before treating diseases with folk remedies. This will help to take into account individual tolerance, confirm the diagnosis, make sure the treatment is correct and exclude negative drug interactions.

If you use prescriptions without consulting a doctor, then this is entirely at your own risk. All recipes are provided for informational purposes only.

You are solely responsible for their use. ​

General information about rheumatism

We take 1 tsp. bearberry and pour a glass of boiling water, then insist for about an hour and drink a glass twice a day.

In fact, rheumatism is not as common a disease as it is commonly thought. In general, this disease is typical for children aged 6 to 15 years. In older people, this disease appears extremely rarely. But even in that classic "children's" group, which is most susceptible to this disease, no more than 1 child out of a thousand is sick.

Antibacterial drugs from nature

polyarthritis

nosebleeds

Sometimes rheumatism disguises itself as a dermatological disease and manifests itself as skin rashes in the form of an annular rim and rheumatic nodules, dense, inactive, painless formations in the subcutaneous tissue.

Rheumatism in adults is most often a relapse of a disease that began in childhood or adolescence. Primary rheumatism in adults is rare and usually resolves in a more favorable form.

Indications for the appointment of GCS are:

But, nevertheless, modern medicine has developed treatment protocols that can improve the patient's quality of life and achieve stable remission.

A huge number of people suffer from such an unpleasant disease as rheumatism of the joints. It causes a lot of trouble, takes away strength from a person, so all people who have at least some symptoms of the disease immediately run to the doctor in order to prevent the progression of the disease in a timely manner.

It should be said that rheumatism of the joints is a rather insidious disease, so its treatment is very long and difficult. A person needs to stock up on patience and strength in order to survive this period in life.

Do not forget that if the treatment of rheumatism of the joints is not started in a timely manner, then everything can end very badly.

Fortunately, not all drugs for joint diseases are chemically synthesized drugs - such as anti-inflammatory drugs for arthrosis and arthritis. Wise nature took care of man and created many plants that can be used to treat or simply alleviate the condition in a variety of diseases, including deforming osteoarthritis.

One of these plants is toad stone, products based on which - ointments, creams and balms - help well with a variety of diseases.

Prevention for joint disease

Mix 250 grams of calamus root with three liters of water and boil. Then it is necessary to strain the liquid and pour into a pre-prepared bath.

The temperature should be no more than 37 degrees Celsius. This mixture is ideal for the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis.

Wrap your legs and arms, preferably at night, with burdock leaves picked the day before. Arthritis is most commonly caused by inflammation, injury, or infection.

Correcting nutrition

To get rid of rheumatoid arthritis faster, it is important to adhere to

This means that you will have to not only take pills and do procedures, but also reconsider your diet. You will have to refuse products that provoke inflammation of the joints and overload the kidneys:

• sweet pastries on white flour;
• fatty meat and lard;
• whole milk;
• oat groats;
• citrus fruit;
• some vegetables (eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes);
• smoked, fried, salty, spicy food;
• alcohol.

You need to include nuts, sea fish, olive oil, natural foods rich in calcium in your diet. Gelatin, fish oil, B vitamins are very useful for arthritis.

For arthritis, it is recommended to eat vegetarian dishes, ginger and oily fish. With such a diet, you should not eat potatoes, meat products and tomatoes, including spicy foods, sugar and various cereals. It is necessary to exclude corn and dairy products, as well as wheat from your diet. Try to eat as many dishes with seaweed as possible.

Not so long ago, such diseases were treated with fish oil, in addition, scientists have confirmed that this method is quite effective. It is enough to drink one tablespoon of fish oil during the entire course of admission - 2 months. Six months later, repeat.

Treatment of joints with herbs

On the one hand, the disease in the early stages was treatable, but the side effects of the introduction of the then prestigious tetracyclines and sulfonamides were very significant. On the other hand, in the later stages, drugs not only did not improve the condition of patients, but also significantly aggravated it due to the highest toxicity and duration of use (1 year or more). Therefore, at present, rheumatism itself and its manifestations are actually distinguished rheumatoid processes (in other words, a disease that proceeds like rheumatism, but cannot be cured by ordinary means). There is a lot of different medical literature about rheumatism.

I will not repeat myself. I will only note the work of the doctor, doctor of medical sciences Denezhkin A.I. "The use of benzyl-penicillin sodium salt in the treatment of rheumatism".

Edition of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, 1986. Naturally, in our time there is a whole range of modern drugs, including the so-called "soft" ones, which do not give such side effects as old drugs. But it turns out that these medicines differ from the old ones in the main price, and benzyl-penicillin sodium salt cures rheumatism, as before, in other words, ordinary penicillin in everyday life.

There is an old traditional remedy, known as early as the 17th century and recorded in one of the medical books. The essence of the method lies in the simultaneous healing effect of the water temperature and the pharmaceutical product.

Sage is used as a medicine. We brew a pack of sage purchased at a pharmacy with 3 liters of water, leave for 45 minutes and pour into a bath filled with water at a temperature of 40 degrees.

We lie down in the bath and lie in it for 15 minutes. Later we get up and dry ourselves with a towel without washing off the healing infusion! After 3 days, we repeat the function, but we make the water hotter and the stay in the bathroom longer.

Three days later again - the water is hotter, we lie longer. The seventh time is a healing week - the middle of the cycle. After it, the temperature and stay in the bathroom must be reduced.

The longest stay in the bath with sage infusion is 45 minutes, the highest temperature is 55 degrees. Tolerance to such a temperature is achieved by gradually approaching and training the body's thermoregulation system. For people of advanced age - who have heart and blood pressure problems - the temperature component must be left unchanged, in other words, do not increase the water temperature, but simply lie in the bathroom every time longer, and later on the contrary, less.

Sage every time brew a new one. After a cycle of 13 baths, take a break for 3 months, and later repeat 15 baths and so reach 19 baths.

In total, there are 4 cycles per year. I inspected for myself: the 1st cycle of 13 baths was enough for me to forget for almost 10 years that I have rheumatism. But it should be said that sage and baths do not cure rheumatism, but simply do not allow the disease to develop and relieve pain, therefore, it is necessary to take them all the time, throughout life, which may not always be the case, unfortunately.

If the healing of rheumatism was interrupted for some reason, or an event occurred that worsened the course of the disease (for example, a person fell through the ice), the disease may pass into the stage of the so-called autoimmune processes. A stressful situation forces the human immune system to work in super-mode. If we compare it with a car wheel, then it (the immune system) will start spinning at a crazy speed and it will not be so easy to stop it.

What happens to the human immune system in this case. Rheumatism - in other words, streptococcus-staphylococcal infection - has already been defeated, and the immune system is still looking for someone to defeat.

And, enraged, she rushes at her body, at that organ that seems suspiciously unhealthy to her. It can be joints (rheumatoid arthritis) or a heart (rheumatic heart disease), other organs.

The immune system begins to kill this organ. Autoimmune processes are usually expressed identically: a decrease in blood pressure to 90 to 70 and below, a complete lack of appetite (and, accordingly, a sharp decrease in weight), impotence (when trying to exercise, the muscles are completely out of control, the person is doused later, may collapse from helplessness while climbing stairs), lowering the mood to depression, practical disability. With all this, blood tests - like an astronaut, no visible diseases are detected.

A person is considered a simulator until some kind of failure happens to him, and from time to time an unexpected death. The same autoimmune processes occur in women who want to lose weight and starve themselves.

Often they cannot be saved. Such people are cured with hormones. At the moment, a new technique for processing the blood of patients with autoimmune diseases has been developed in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok.

There is also such a laboratory in Moscow, where even psoriasis is cured. Experiments are underway to create a cure for such a severe autoimmune disease as systemic lupus erythematosus.

Unfortunately, while these developments are experimental.

Rheumatism of the joints - symptoms and treatment

In this article, I will tell you about rheumatism of the joints: we will talk about its symptoms and treatment, and discuss some of the misconceptions associated with this disease.

Very often, when entering my office, a middle-aged man or woman declares from the threshold: "Doctor, my joints hurt. It must be rheumatism." As a specialist, I always smile at such statements, because in fact rheumatism is much less common than people realize.

In addition, rheumatism is a disease of children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 years. The chance of getting this disease in those over 30 years old is practically zero. And even in the classic age group for rheumatism of children 6-15 years old, only one child out of a thousand suffers from it.

The question arises: if rheumatism is so rare, why do we hear this term so often? Most likely, the "memory of ancestors" affects. In earlier times, rheumatoid arthritis was more common. But over the past 50 years, thanks to the advent of antibiotics and the efforts of medicine, the incidence of rheumatism in our country has decreased several times.

The second reason why rheumatism was mentioned so much more often in earlier times belongs to the category of literature. Previously, the word "rheumatism" denoted any joint diseases - arthrosis and arthritis.

Doctors simply did not need to differentiate different diseases of the joints - after all, in most cases they were all treated with the same methods, since the choice of healing procedures was small. Fortunately, now the possibilities of medicine have increased significantly. And in our time, not a single competent rheumatologist or arthrologist confuses the manifestations of true rheumatism with symptoms of any other disease.

Symptoms of rheumatism

The manifestations of rheumatism are very characteristic. As already mentioned, mostly children and adolescents get sick. The disease usually develops 1-3 weeks after a streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract: after pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx), tonsillitis or tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils).

Streptococcal infection does not always show up brightly. Sometimes it proceeds hidden and atypical, with minimal temperature and mild sore throat, so often in such cases, doctors diagnose acute respiratory infections and do not carry out antistreptococcal treatment. Meanwhile, an untreated streptococcal infection, especially if it occurs repeatedly and against a background of reduced immunity, can lead to articular rheumatism. And a few days after suffering a sore throat or pharyngitis, inflammation of any large joints occurs: knee, wrist, ankle, elbow and shoulder (small joints of the fingers or toes are rarely affected by rheumatism).

In this case, the joints become inflamed in turn. Let's say the knee joint becomes inflamed first. Then, after a few hours or days, this inflammation disappears, but another joint becomes inflamed, then a third, and so on. This alternate "flashing" of the joints is the "calling card of rheumatism." Moreover, inflammation of the joints is in the nature of a short-term attack, the duration of which rarely exceeds days. But there are usually several such attacks, and, worst of all, each such attack ends up hitting not so much the joints as the heart.

The consequence of rheumatism not cured in time is most often rheumatic heart disease (rheumatic inflammation of the heart). Rheumatic heart disease is mild, moderate and severe. The process involves the heart muscle (myocarditis), the membranes of the heart (pericarditis), and the heart valves.

With a mild form of rheumatic heart disease, not the entire heart is affected, but only certain sections of the heart muscle. The circulation of the heart is not disturbed, external manifestations of the disease are usually absent. This form of the disease is the most common and usually goes unnoticed.

With moderate rheumatic heart disease, the heart muscle is more affected; the heart moderately hypertrophies (increases in size). Patients note discomfort in the chest and behind the sternum, complain of shortness of breath, increased fatigue when climbing stairs and walking (even slow), a feeling of palpitations during normal household stress.

In severe rheumatic heart disease, the heart weakens even more; its size increases significantly. Patients, even in complete rest, are disturbed by pain in the heart, shortness of breath and palpitations; edema appears on the legs. A severe form of rheumatic heart disease very often leads to the appearance of heart defects, that is, to wrinkling of the heart valves.

In addition to rheumatic heart disease, chorea, a rheumatic lesion of the nervous system in children, can become a consequence of rheumatism not cured in time. As a result of chorea, a child or teenager becomes irritable, capricious, absent-minded, sloppy. His handwriting, gait change, speech and memory worsen, sleep is disturbed. In the early period of illness, parents and teachers tend to attribute such behavioral changes to the child's moodiness and indiscipline, and medical attention is delayed. Parents begin to "beat the bells" only when the child has involuntary twitches of the muscles of the face, torso, arms and legs.

Fortunately, chorea, like rheumatic inflammation of the joints, eventually disappears without a trace. And only rheumatic heart disease, if not treated on time, can lead to serious health problems and early disability of the patient. Therefore, it is important to throw all your strength into the treatment of rheumatism even before it has time to deal its blow to the heart.

Treatment of rheumatism

The main task facing us in the treatment of rheumatism is to suppress the streptococcal infection that causes the development of the disease and provokes its many complications. Currently, of the entire large group of antibacterial agents for the treatment of rheumatism, penicillin (bicillin) and its analogues are most often used. Active therapy with penicillin usually lasts about two weeks, and then for five years every three weeks the patient is given one injection of bicillin intramuscularly - to prevent rheumatic complications in the heart.

In addition to injectable antibiotics (penicillin and bicillin), in recent years, tablets of "broad-spectrum" antibiotics have been successfully used for rheumatism. Oxacillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, cephalosporin, and a number of other drugs are very effective in rheumatism.

Simultaneously with antibiotics during the period of an articular attack of rheumatism, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed to eliminate joint pain, which act almost immediately and completely eliminate pain.

Usually, rheumatism is so well treated with antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that they are usually enough to completely defeat the disease. Only in rare cases, the action of antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is ineffective. Then you have to resort to extreme measures - to prescribe corticosteroid (anti-inflammatory) hormones, which, in combination with antibiotics, suppress rheumatic inflammation literally in a matter of days.

Prevention of recurrence of rheumatic fever

To treat rheumatism in time and stop (stop) its attack is only half the battle. It is more important to prevent repeated attacks and exacerbations of the disease. To do this, it is necessary to pay attention to the restoration of the body's defenses, its immunity, as well as to prevent the possibility of re-infection with streptococcal infection, to which a person who previously suffered from rheumatism is especially sensitive. Therefore, all patients with rheumatism must be sent to specialized sanatoriums.

After discharge from the sanatorium, within a year or two from the last rheumatic attack, it is advisable to rest in the summer only in your own climatic zone: in the country, in rest houses or in sanatoriums (since long-distance trips to foreign climatic zones are associated with inevitable acclimatization and the risk of complications). All this time, doctors do not recommend people who have suffered an attack of rheumatism to sunbathe a lot and swim for a long time in cold water - cold rivers, lakes, etc. You can swim and sunbathe only in such a way as to prevent extreme temperature effects on the body weakened by rheumatism.

It is also undesirable to actively engage in sports in the first few years after a rheumatic attack. A large physical load leads to an overstrain of the heart weakened by disease and accelerates its wear. On the other hand, the complete cessation of physical education and ignoring hardening also does not add health. Therefore, it is still necessary to harden and engage in physical education, but little by little. While doing physical education, a person who has had rheumatism must control his pulse and breathing. With the appearance of shortness of breath and a pulse rate of more than 120 beats per minute, it is necessary to interrupt and rest, and only after the pulse normalizes, continue the exercises, but at a slower pace.

In conclusion of the section, I want to give the basic rules for the prevention of repeated rheumatic attacks, which are indicated by scientists from the Institute of Rheumatology in the "Book for Patients with Rheumatic Diseases". Here are the rules. You need:

• maintain constant communication with the attending physician;
• follow the doctor's instructions on the daily routine, hardening, physical training, treatment, and, if possible, avoid participating in those sports games, competitions, hikes that are not allowed by the doctor
• in case of any acute illness or deterioration of health, immediately consult a doctor, and not self-medicate;
• timely treat bad teeth, chronic inflammation of the tonsils or pharynx;
• to carry out the prescribed prophylactic antibiotic therapy in a timely manner.

And for parents of children who have had rheumatism, the same reference book reminds them that a calm and friendly atmosphere in the family will help to strengthen the health of the child. With which I agree one hundred percent.

Nutrition for rheumatism

For all people who suffer from rheumatism or have had it, doctors recommend during the illness and a year or two after the last attack of rheumatism to adhere to diet No. 10. In addition to following diet No. 10, there are additional nutritional rules for those patients whose rheumatism is in the active phase, that is, at the moment of exacerbation or during a rheumatic attack.

Since metabolism is disturbed during a rheumatic attack, especially water-salt and carbohydrate metabolism, all dishes are prepared without salt or with a minimum of salt. In addition, you need to limit the use of seasonings containing salt (it should be remembered that even soy sauce contains a large amount of sodium salt). It is necessary to exclude or minimize the use of dishes containing extractive substances - strong meat and vegetable broths and soups, especially soups from bags or prepared on the basis of bouillon cubes. It is necessary to temporarily limit the use of foods containing easily digestible carbohydrates (sugar, jam, jam, honey, confectionery).

Mushrooms, peas, legumes, sorrel and spinach should be practically excluded from the diet. Of fruits, grapes and grape juice are not recommended. Meat and fish are recommended only boiled or lightly stewed, and vegetables should be well boiled.

You need to eat little, but often - about 5-6 times a day.

In addition, in the acute phase of rheumatism, we need to compensate for the loss of vitamins caused by increased vascular permeability in this disease. Vitamins C, P, PP, B1, B2, B6, B12 are necessarily added to the diet. You can include drinks made from brewer's and baker's yeast in your diet, since yeast is a supplier of large doses of natural B vitamins.

The strictest observance of the above nutritional rules should be observed during the entire acute phase of the disease and plus 3-5 days after its completion. Once out of the crisis, with good health, you can relax the strict dietary restrictions, but in general, you still need to more or less adhere to the above nutritional recommendations.

Article by Dr. Evdokimenko © for the book "Arthritis", published in 2003.

Edited in 2011

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The people know the recipes for the treatment of rheumatism

How to get rid of pain in rheumatism? How to cure joint tumors? Lady 40 plus offers several effective folk recipes from which you will learn how to treat rheumatism and not know the pain.

Read this article:

Rheumatism is curable: faith and perseverance

Rheumatism affects the joints and the cardiovascular system. As you can see, this is already serious. In no case should one treat an illness as a weather illness "it rained in the yard, it hurt in the joints." She sits in us constantly, and only waits for the moment to jump out in the form of a relapse. And even then it will not seem enough. Pain, swelling, suffering, insomnia, etc.

The worst thing is that this disease in the form of a streptococcal infection settles in the bodies of children and adolescents. By the way, women are prone to this disease much more often than men (3 times!). But let this sore not concern them at all. Our men get it anyway. And the disease can be inherited. So it needs to be treated drastically. Rheumatism can develop as a result of acute and chronic infections in the nasopharynx, and these are frequent tonsillitis and pharyngitis. The most dangerous thing is that this disease poses a threat to the cardiovascular system. Here and heart disease, and myocarditis.

Enough passion. Let's think about how to treat rheumatism. It turned out that there are many ways of treatment in traditional medicine. But the most effective ones require components that are not so easy to get. And yet, if desired, everything is possible.

Recipes of traditional medicine in the treatment of articular rheumatism (with tumors)

Sulfuric acid and linseed oil are taken in equal parts. In the old days, wood oil was used. The oil is of the highest quality. Flaxseed, for example, is sold in pharmacies.

The acid is gently introduced dropwise into the oil, and not vice versa. Seal the glass container well. In no case do not shake. The balm can be applied the next day. To do this, take any feather or brush and apply the remedy to the sore spot. Try to stand for 15 minutes so that the balm is absorbed into the skin. Then insulate with gauze (fold it four times).

If you feel severe pain during the procedure, apply the balm after 3 days. In general, the first time you can make a remedy in the proportions of 1 part sulfuric acid to 2 parts linseed oil. But do not stop in the treatment until the pains caused by the rheumatic recurrence are gone.

Birch will help cure rheumatism

It is winter now, and by spring, be ready to collect another medicinal raw material for rheumatism - birch buds. Of course, they are also sold in pharmacies today. But, assembled with your own hands, more effective. Birch buds cure all kinds of rheumatism. They can be infused with good quality vodka, strong moonshine or alcohol. within 7 days. Constantly shaking. This tincture and rub all the sore joints and even those that do not bother you. For 50 ml. water 10 drops of tincture taken before meals.

Prepare (do not be lazy) and ointment from birch buds

She will anesthetize, and the disease will exhaust:

• birch buds (400 gr.);
• butter (800 gr.);
• camphor powder (8 gr.).

Make your own butter by whipping cream from cow's milk. It is important. In an enameled saucepan, prepare the ointment, laying out layers first of oil (about 1.5 cm), then birch buds (1.5 cm). Cover the pan and coat with dough so that the healing steam does not come out. Put it in the oven for a day. In the morning, squeeze the oil from the kidneys and add camphor to the resulting mixture.

Store the ointment in the refrigerator, and in the evenings rub it on sore joints. Then insulate with natural woolen fabrics.

During treatment with birch buds, refuse meat and fish. So, you will help the body to throw all its forces into the fight against the disease. Heal with the help of birch and in the summer. Priceless in healing properties and its leaves. When you go to the forest, ask God for blessings. And the birch has forgiveness and healing. You need to pick a lot of leaves, two bags. Prepare pants at home one size larger and sew them up at the bottom. Put on at night and put birch leaves in your pants so that they fit your legs tightly on all sides. So go to sleep. Your feet will sweat like in a steam bath. The leaves will become wet, change them to fresh ones. So summer and birch will give you a chance for a speedy cure.

Let's go back to the days of winter and cold. What can you do to help yourself today?

Mustard can do a lot, it will help us

1. Compress. The water should be heated to 50C with it and pour mustard powder (1:2). Stir to a creamy consistency, which is applied to the fabric and applied to the sore joint. Cover with paper, lie down for about 10 minutes. In case of relapses, you need to do it more than once a day.
2. Mustard bath. In 250 ml. warm water, dilute the mustard powder to a sour cream consistency. Prepare bath (38C) and add mustard mixture. You need to be in the bathroom for 10 minutes.
3. Mustard-vodka infusion. Pour a tablespoon of mustard powder into a half-liter bottle of vodka. Cork and let it brew for 5 days. Every evening, shake the infusion and rub it well on the neck, chest, sore joints and feet. Dress warmly and go to bed. A month of such mustard procedures and the disease will recede.

To be healthy - all means are good. Try, be treated and the disease will recede. Sometimes you apply so many recipes and heal. You just don't know what helped. And your perseverance and recipes of traditional medicine helped.

Another treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

One lady of rather advanced age treats her joints with ice. It freezes infusions of herbs in plastic bags in the refrigerator, and as soon as exacerbations of rheumatism begin, it “warms up” the sore spots. in circular motions. Then rub it well with a terry towel. By the way, so she treats many diseases. And she takes coniferous baths 3 times a month and claims that she is not afraid of any cold.

Live without pain and disease, Lady 40 plus wishes you.

is there a cure for rheumatism

  Rheumatism: a problem of the heart and blood vessels

If your joints hurt.

According to the established opinion, any pain in the joints is somehow connected with rheumatism. So they say: "The knees hurt, rheumatism tortured." Rheumatism really hurts the joints. But most of all, the heart and blood vessels suffer from rheumatism. About what rheumatism actually is, Indira Khamitovna Yusupova, a cardio-rheumatologist of the first category, tells in an interview with the Health Expert newspaper.

EZ: There is a popular notion that rheumatism is a disease of the musculoskeletal system that comes with age. What is rheumatism?

Doctors have such concepts as rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. This is an autoimmune disease in which inflammation of the connective tissue occurs. Autoimmune processes are triggered as a result of a sore throat caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcus A. We have connective tissue everywhere, including in blood vessels, in the inner lining of the heart, endocardium, valvular apparatus of the heart, as well as in the skin and articular surfaces. Rheumatism is manifested by heart disease, a general inflammatory reaction - fever, fever, weakness, joint pain and vasculitis - inflammation of the inner lining of blood vessels. The degree of manifestation is different. Up to a stroke. Vessels are located everywhere, so vital organs - the kidneys - are damaged. brain and heart.

Inflammatory reaction in the kidneys leads to pyelonephritis. If the brain is in the affected area, then it is chorea, large and small: involuntary movements, hyperkinesis. There may be changes in the psyche, tearfulness, resentment, as well as involuntary movements of skeletal muscles and facial expressions. A child's illness can be perceived as misbehavior. Everyone thinks that he mimics others, in fact, this is a manifestation of the disease.

How to treat rheumatism

Rheumatism is an infectious-allergic disease that primarily affects the cardiovascular system, joints, and connective tissue in the body. The cause of such a disease can be various chronic infections in any part of the body, such as, for example, caries, which is widespread among the population. This disease, as a rule, originates in youth, and at an older age, its exacerbations begin.

Symptoms of rheumatism

Rheumatism primarily affects the joints and the heart. Symptoms of this disease are manifested in recurrent pain emanating from the joints. The occurrence of pain is closely related to the weather outside. In addition, the mobility of the joints changes, they become deformed and redden. The disease also negatively affects the work of the heart: its valves do not fully close. Over time, the valves begin to function worse, and this leads to chronic cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Treatment of rheumatism folk methods

If you have been touched by such an ailment as rheumatism, then there is every chance to overcome the disease with the help of traditional medicine. We present to your attention a list of folk methods to combat rheumatism, from which you can choose the most suitable way for you to combat this disease.

First of all, you need a special diet. There is a theory that the cause of pain emanating from the joints in rheumatism is the oversaturation of the body with uric acid. This oversaturation is mainly due to eating a large amount of meat. Therefore, the diet for rheumatism is to abandon meat products in general and switch to food of plant origin. In addition, you should try to eat mostly raw. The time for following such a diet should be quite long, you will have to give up meat products for months. Fasting will also help. Such changes in nutrition will lead to the cleansing of the body of toxins. and this, in turn, will contribute to the speedy solution of the problem with rheumatism.

is there a cure for rheumatism?

Personal Account Deleted Pro (889) 9 years ago

treated, write me an agent

regular aspirin 3 times a day. after 3-5 days, the pain completely disappears, tested on myself.

I had such rheumatism, all the bones were twisting, my jaw was already twisting from pain, I sobbed at night, after aspirin everything went away. I drank imported

Lydia44 Oracle (86218) 9 years ago

A complete cure is not possible. You can only remove the pain syndrome. There are a lot of ointments and pills for this. it’s bad to see a rheumatologist and get registered if it’s really rheumatism.

Welcome to the site revmatizm.ru!

Here you will find all the necessary information about such a disease as rheumatism.

Rheumatism is a complex infectious-allergic process that unfolds in an organism that is especially responsive to streptococcal infection. It is no coincidence that rheumatism occurs only in one out of 100 who have had sporadic tonsillitis and in 3 out of 100 who have had epidemic tonsillitis. More and more data is accumulating about the existence of congenital rheumatism, in the development of which not only hereditary, genetic, but also environmental factors play a role - infections, social and domestic moments.

Rheumatism (Sokolsky-Buyo disease) is an infectious-allergic disease with a primary lesion of the heart and blood vessels. In the etiology of this disease, group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus plays a leading role. Due to the peculiarities of immunogenesis, rheumatism is prone to recurrence and progression. Rheumatism develops in connection with an acute infection (group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus) mainly in children and adolescents (7-15 years old). A streptococcal infection, especially a massive one, has a direct or indirect damaging effect on tissues with a large number of antigens and toxins.

Reduced immunity to streptococcus predisposes to rheumatism, a family genetic tendency is also noted.

The clinical picture of this disease is well known and, despite a number of reports on changes in the clinical picture of rheumatism in children in modern conditions, continues to be quite typical.

ROCKY Guru (3267) 9 years ago

Can Rheumatism Be Cured Forever?

Rheumatism is a banal streptococcal or staphylococcal infection that has settled in the human musculoskeletal system. Before the invention of antibiotics, it was a severe disease leading to complete disability.

Antibiotics were first used in the treatment of rheumatism in the 60s of the last century, but the results were ambiguous. On the one hand, the disease was curable in the early stages, but the side effects of the then fashionable tetracyclines and sulfonamides were very high. On the other hand, in the later stages, antibiotics not only did not improve the condition of patients, but also significantly worsened it due to high toxicity and duration of use (1 year or more).

Therefore, at present, rheumatism itself and its manifestations are distinguished from the so-called rheumatoid processes (that is, a disease that occurs like rheumatism, but is not cured by conventional means).

There is a lot of different medical literature about rheumatism. I will not repeat myself. I will only note the work of Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Denezhkin A.I. "The use of benzyl-penicillin sodium salt in the treatment of rheumatism". Edition of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, 1986

Of course, in our time there is a whole range of modern antibiotics, including the so-called "soft", which do not give such side effects as the old antibiotics. But it turns out that these antibiotics differ from the old ones mainly in price, and rheumatism is still treated with benzyl-penicillin sodium salt, that is, in everyday life - ordinary penicillin. Professor Denezhkin advises at the 1st and 2nd stages of rheumatic disease to use penicillin injections of 1 million units per day once for 30 days. Then take a break for 3 months and repeat penicillin again. In the absence of manifestations of the disease, it is recommended to interrupt treatment with antibiotics.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.

DISEASES OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, THE CIRCULATION SYSTEM AND COLLAGEN DISEASES

Rheumatism (Sokolovsky-Buyo disease) is a common infectious-allergic disease, accompanied by an inflammatory lesion of the connective tissue, with a predominant localization in the cardiovascular system and frequent involvement of other organs and body systems in the process. In connection with the development at a certain stage of autoallergic processes, the disease acquires a chronic relapsing course.

Rheumatism is etiologically associated with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. In the most common chronic and protracted forms of the disease, the relationship of the disease with streptococcus often cannot be established. In such cases, rheumatic heart disease apparently has a different nature - allergic (out of touch with streptococcus or infectious agents in general), infectious-toxic, viral, etc. Still, the main role in the etiology of rheumatism is assigned to beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

Allergy is of great importance in the pathogenesis of rheumatism. Any allergic reaction is a harmonious chain of transitions between reactions of immediate and delayed type. In rheumatism, both types of allergic reactions are observed. Sensitization by streptococcus or another agent first causes an immediate allergic reaction, characteristic mainly of acute and exudative forms of rheumatism, and then a delayed-type allergic reaction, common for chronic protracted and sluggish forms of rheumatism.

At present, the classification of rheumatism has been adopted, according to which the active (III degree - high activity, II - moderate, I - minimal activity) and inactive phases of the disease are distinguished. The course of the disease can be acute, subacute, protracted, continuously relapsing and latent.