What causes psoriatic arthritis?

Even in people who contract psoriatic arthritis who were not previously psoriasis sufferers, it is generally believed that the primary cause of psoriatic arthritis is remarkably similar to those of psoriasis.

For instance, it seems likely that psoriatic arthritis is caused by a defect in the sufferers immune system. Furthermore, it seems likely that those who suffer psoriatic arthritis are often genetically predisposed to do so and they need some kind of psychological, emotional or physical trigger to bring on the onset of arthritis in exactly the same way as there is with psoriasis.

Who is likely to suffer from psoriatic arthritis?

In the USA, there are believed to be around one million people who suffer from psoriatic arthritis, with the majority of those people having previously been psoriasis sufferers, particularly sufferers from pustular psoriasis.

Most commonly, the effect of psoriatic arthritis will be felt by people who are already psoriasis sufferers who are between the age of 30 and 50. However, it is not unknown for even young children to develop psoriatic arthritis.

Girls from as young as 2 to 4 years of age have been known to suffer psoriatic arthritis, with the prime time for the condition to take hold in children being around 11 or 12 years of age for both boys and girls. Most worryingly, it is even known for arthritis to set in even before psoriasis has appeared, although because it is extremely rare, this would not necessarily be something that most parents with no family background of psoriasis should be overly concerned about.

Diagnosis and recognizing the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis

The number one goal for anyone who suspects that they might be susceptible to psoriatic arthritis is to know how to recognize the onset of the condition as early as possible.

Of course, the condition is not called psoriatic arthritis for nothing. The majority of people who suffer are those who have previously suffered psoriasis, so that would be the first clue that you might these susceptible to the condition.

Secondly, any unexplained aches or pains particularly around the joints might be giving you a clue that psoriatic arthritis is ‘targeting’ you. The majority of sufferers are within a certain age band (30-50), so is this where you are?

It is important to understand that once psoriatic arthritis sets in, joint deterioration and the corresponding increase in pain can begin to accelerate very quickly, so you must do something to put the brakes on this acceleration.

As most people who have ever encountered someone who is suffering from arthritis probably understand, it is not a particularly difficult condition to recognize, but it is not easy to recognize the difference between different types of arthritis if you’re not medically qualified. After all, how many non-qualified individuals would be able to differentiate between someone suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis?

The bottom line is, if you do nothing about psoriatic arthritis, it is perfectly feasible that you’re going to end up being able to do nothing about anything owing to your condition. It is therefore imperative that if you have any reason to suspect that you might have a problem, you consult a dermatologist or other recognized medical professional as quickly as possible.

Medical treatment for psoriatic arthritis

The goals of treating psoriatic arthritis can be broken down into three different categories. These are:

• To first control the symptoms;

• Next to inhibit and control joint damage and deformities and finally

• To prevent disability.

However, every single psoriatic arthritis sufferer is different, and therefore no single medical treatment will solve everyone’s problems. For this reason, there are many different specific formulations of different drugs used to treat psoriatic arthritis sufferers, but the majority of these drugs fall under one of two categories.

Consequently, rather than dealing with every individual drug, it makes more sense to look at the two different classes of drug to explain why they work and the potential adverse side-effects of each.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDs are drugs that help to alleviate pain, ease the stiffness in joints and take down swelling that is all too commonly associated with every form of arthritis. These particular drugs are very commonly used by non-psoriatic arthritis sufferers, and can include such common household medicines as aspirin and ibuprofen.

Obviously, the potential side-effects of the particular NSAID that you are taking will vary from one medicine to another, but they can include nausea, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, suppressed appetite and dizziness. They can also encourage water retention which in turn might encourage edema, and in a worst-case scenario, they can cause kidney or liver failure, ulcers and prolonged internal bleeding, particularly after surgery.

Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic drugs (DMARDs): Using DMARDs is generally considered to represent a less effective way of treating psoriatic arthritis, because whilst they slow down the development of the condition, they very rarely stop or reverse it altogether. Also, because in many cases it takes the drug in question anywhere from six to eight months to have any positive effect, they are generally also considered to be slow acting drugs as well.

Although it is not fully understood how DMARDs work, it is generally agreed that they effect a slowdown in the advance of psoriatic arthritis by slowing or modifying the activities of the immune system of the sufferer in some way.

However, once again, depending upon the particular type of drug that is prescribed to you, you have to be aware that there are potential of unpleasant and dangerous side-effects.

These include stomach pain, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, vomiting, headache and possibly a violent skin rash. Then there are potentially even more dangerous side effects such as increased blood pressure, lowered white cell count (which may partly explain why they are effective in treating a psoriasis related condition), hair loss and increased susceptibility to infection.

As with psoriasis itself, you cannot fail to arrive at the conclusion that in some cases, the treatments that your dermatologist or medical attendant might recommend to you could in some cases be as bad as if not worse than the medical condition that they are prescribed to treat.

Natural treatments for psoriatic arthritis

Natural chemicals and devices for the relief of psoriatic arthritis

It is perhaps not too surprising that many of the natural treatments that you might use for psoriasis can also be effective for helping to deal with the swelling, stiffness and joint pain that is associated with psoriatic arthritis as well.

For example, topically applied Tea Tree Oil is known to relieve muscle and joint pain, whereas adding turmeric to your food or taking it as a food supplement can help to relieve the inflammation and pain associated with any form of arthritis.

However, because psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are two very different conditions, there are many other natural treatments that are worthy of your consideration if you suffer from psoriatic arthritis that may not be quite so applicable in the case of psoriasis.

Chondroitin and Glucosamine: Chondroitin and Glucosamine are both natural sulphate solutions that you can use to reduce the pain and slow the advancement of osteoarthritis, which is the deterioration of the cartilage between your bone joints. Both of these substances occur naturally in the body, with chondroitin believed to improve water retention which in turn maintains elasticity in the cartilages between the bones, whereas glucosamine promotes the repair and production of the cartilage.

The National Psoriasis Foundation suggests that there are very few side-effects with either of these substances and that their long-term safety record is already well established. However, pregnant women or those who are trying to become pregnant should not take them, and glucosamine is likely to increase blood sugar levels, so it is not advisable for diabetics.

These can both be found in tablet form at health stores, as can all of the following supplements as well. S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM-e): SAM-e is a synthetic version of a chemical that is naturally manufactured by all animals. It helps to make and regulate hormones and neurotransmitters, which in turn regulate mood and emotions.

More importantly for a psoriatic arthritis sufferer, SAM-e is involved in the manufacture of glutathione which the liver uses as part of the process of removing toxins from the body (toxins which can exacerbate both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis) whilst it is also instrumental in helping to rebuild cartilage which once again reduces the pain and incidence of osteoarthritis.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): MSM which is sometimes known as dimethyl sulfone is a natural chemical which is found in fruits, plants and grains that is unfortunately destroyed by the body during food digestion.

In order to repair and maintain healthy joint functions and connective tissues, the body needs sulfur. Consequently, MSM is able to help the psoriatic arthritis sufferer because it is a natural sulfate which supplements the often-too low levels of sulfate that most people have. It is also reported that MSM has pain relieving qualities and the ability to reduce inflammation, but there is little established evidence of why this should be.

It should also be noted that there is little scientific data on the long-term benefits or side-effects of using MSM, so it should be used with a degree of caution.
Herbs to treat psoriatic arthritis

Nettles: Nettles are found almost everywhere, but they are nevertheless a true wonder food supplement from nature. Including nettles in your diet can help reduce high blood pressure, minimize the worst effects of eczema and relieve the pain and swelling associated with rheumatism.

Saffron: Saffron is a natural source of weak hydrochloric acid which helps to banish uric acid from the body, which is beneficial because it is uric acid that bonds the extra calcium deposited in the bone joints to the bone itself. It also helps to reduce the buildup of lactic acid as well.

Yucca extract: In testing over the past two years, it has been indicated that including yucca extract in their diet helped many arthritis sufferers to reduce the severity of their condition. Whilst you may be able to find yucca extract–based supplements in health food stores already, tests are still going on. Nevertheless, thus far, the results seem extremely encouraging for anyone who suffers from any form of arthritis or rheumatism.

Bogbean: Bogbean is an ancient remedy that has proved to have significant anti-inflammatory and tonic qualities, something that is therefore an ideal treatment for an arthritic condition.

Conclusion

As highlighted throughout this book, whilst there are many chemical drug based treatments available for both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, there are also a wide range and number of natural treatments for both of these conditions as well.

And as with almost any medical condition, because most natural treatments have few adverse side-effects (if any), it always make sense to consider using a natural treatment method before using chemical drug-based solutions that may treat the condition but cause other problems in the process of doing so.

For anyone who suffers from psoriasis, it is an unfortunate fact that there is no known cure for the condition at present. However, as you should understand by now, there are plenty of natural treatments that you can use to deal with your psoriasis or indeed with psoriatic arthritis that can reduce or even eliminate the worst effects of the condition.

Of course, you should not totally ignore medical advice or recommendations, especially if your psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis is particularly severe. In some circumstances, there is no doubt that medical intervention is likely to be necessary in order to bring the worst cases of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis under control and if this is the case for you, you may need to heed medical advice.

However, in many cases, drug-based pharmaceuticals that can be used topically or systematically will automatically be recommended by your medical adviser irrespective of how serious your psoriasis psoriatic arthritis is. In such circumstances, it may be that natural solutions could provide exactly the same amount of relief as pharmaceutical drugs. Hence, once you know that psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis is your problem, it will surely make sense to try natural solutions before reverting to pharmaceuticals.

Psoriasis is a condition that can be a blight on your life, but it does not have to be. Equally as importantly, it is a condition that can be treated entirely naturally.

Armed with the information that you have read of in this book, now is the time to start dealing with psoriasis in a completely natural manner.