Allergic Arthritis: Causes and Methods of Treatment

Allergic arthritis is a disease that indicates painful joint changes caused by the sensitivity of the body to infections and allergens.

This type of arthritis differs in that when the cause of an allergic reaction is eliminated, the disease is completely cured. Disease affects girls more often.

Allergic arthritis also occurs in children due to unformed immune system.

Causes and pathogenesis of

Allergic arthritis occurs when the organism is too sensitive to unfamiliar proteins or products of their vital activity. The disorder occurs with any kind of allergy and even after injections of therapeutic sera.

The main causes of the development of lesions are:

1. Alien substances penetrated into the body - medicinal: antibiotics, serums, anesthetics, which the body does not consider their own and begins to fight them.
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2. External irritants is an allergy to any substance, stress, hypothermia and strong physical activity.

Once in the body, allergens give rise to the formation of antibodies, which then combine with foreign elements. If the immune system is disturbed, then these compounds begin to accumulate in the tissues, in particular, the joints. There is their inflammation - this is allergic arthritis.

One of the reasons for its occurrence is the introduction of haptens into the body.

They do not carry allergic reactions on their own, but when combined with other agents( a protein of blood or tissue) exhibit the properties of allergens.

Phases of the development of the disease

The manifestation of the disease can be acute if an allergen has occurred, but more often it occurs 7-12 days after it enters the blood.

Phases of development of allergic arthritis:

1. In , the first phase symptoms of arthritis can be confused with a cold - there is a runny nose, fever, weakness, joint pain and palpitations.
2. In the , the second is marked by the appearance of rashes on the skin, itching of various degrees, lymph nodes may increase.
3. The third phase is manifested by pain and inflammation in the large joints - they swell, swell, redden, and the skin in this place becomes hot( the affected area "temperature").
4. The fourth phase is characterized by severe pain in affected arthritic joints, the appearance of fluid in the tissues and the onset of destruction of the articular tissues.

Accumulation of the substance in the joint cavity is rare - mostly if in addition to allergic arthritis there is a different joint disease.

Symptomatic

Infectious allergic arthritis is aggravated after a secondary invasion of the allergen into the body, since after the first exposure, immunity is usually produced.

Large joints are usually affected, small ones are less frequent.

Symptoms of the disease are presented in the form:

• the appearance of pain while driving , which intensifies after rest;
• acute edema of the inflamed joint , the skin of the affected area is warm, which is felt by the usual touch to them;
• with hives , a rash of various kinds and itching in the affected area or body;
• tears, itching of and other signs of conjunctivitis;
• may have other symptoms of allergic reactions - more severe Quincke's edema or the occurrence of chronic diseases, for example, asthma;
• non-specific signs of : nausea, rapid heartbeat, fever, diarrhea and other troubles.

The defeat of large joints( knee, hip) leads to difficulty in the movement of the patient. The lack of proper therapy for allergic arthritis leads to serious consequences.

This can be the destruction of cartilage tissue and the displacement of bones. The complication of this disease is rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Diagnosis in a medical institution

Symptoms of allergic arthritis are similar to other types of articular diseases. Establish an accurate diagnosis will help test for allergens - it will indicate that the body reacted so.

Here, the following methods are used:

1. First, should check the blood of - in case of allergic arthritis, the level of leukocytes and eosinophils increases. is marked with an increase in ESR, but slightly - 20-25 mm per hour.
2. The presence of an obvious inflammatory process of the joint suggests ultrasound diagnosis for the examination of the joint cavity and fluid accumulation.
3. You may need to take the puncture of effusion( the substance accumulated in the joint) in order to detect the presence of an allergen.

An X-ray at the time of manifestation of allergic arthritis in the early stages is not required, as there are no bone changes yet.

Therapy of violation of

The purpose of treatment of the disease is to eliminate symptoms and reduce the sensitivity of the body to an allergen.

The allergen that caused such a reaction is also detected, active actions are taken to exclude contact with it, otherwise complications may occur. Allergic arthritis responds well to treatment, which is conservative.

Therapeutic actions include:

1. First, anti-inflammatory and antihistamines are prescribed for treatment by a specialist. They relieve pain and inflammation, also stop the allergic reaction. Doctors recommend taking Suprastin, Dimedrol, if there is no strength to endure the pain, then Adrenaline is prescribed. For the removal of inflammation apply Aspirin or Brufen.
2. Before starting treatment with antibiotics, testing for their tolerability is carried out. Of the antibiotics , Penicillin or Eritomycin is usually given a course of 7-10 days. In parallel with this, it is necessary to take drugs to restore the intestinal microflora: Lactobacterin or Bifidumbacterin.
3. Sometimes the allergy provokes the defeat of another body system, then is prescribed recovery and treatment of the "secondary" pathology of .
4. To protect the joint from sudden shifts and physical effects, the is superimposed on the bus.
5. Surgical intervention is used in exceptional cases. As a rule, treatment does not even allow the introduction of therapeutic agents into the articular cavity itself.
6. physiotherapy is used if inflammation and pain do not disappear for too long, and the effusion is poorly absorbed. Thermal procedures are prescribed: paraffin treatment, applications with peat, diathermy sessions.

Useful recommendations

A patient suffering from allergic arthritis is obliged to warn doctors about this, to follow their recommendations, to constantly monitor their health. The ingestion of an allergen into the body is secondary - it is unacceptable.

When taking a medicine with an allergen, you should enter an antihistamine.

Such patients require constant supervision of an immunologist with a comprehensive examination 2 times a year.

The patient's allergic signs for different antigens that lead to arthritis can subsequently manifest in very severe form. The main preventive measure to prevent allergic arthritis is to strengthen immunity.

The prognosis for the disease is mostly positive if the treatment is prescribed correctly and in a timely manner. The disease begins with an acute form, and all its manifestations are eliminated immediately at the beginning of therapy. Do not self-medicate - complex treatment will appoint only a doctor.