September 18, 2007

Psoriatic Arthritis Affects More Than Just The Joints

If you are unlucky enough to have psoriatic arthritis, you will no doubt be looking for a suitable means to find relief from the unpleasant joint pain as well as stiffness that you feel, especially when getting out of bed. Pain and fatigue are part and parcel of psoriatic arthritis and it is most excruciating, making it a major unbearable problem that few other diseases can cause as much pain and discomfort. With this disease, not only will your joints are affected, but you will also find the skin as well as eyes, spine as also the heart and lungs also being affected.

Check If Inflamed Skin Is Psoriatic Arthritis, Or Not

You will probably be well advised to check whether the inflammation of your skin is psoriatic arthritis or not, and it will often affect your elbows, knees as well as scalp and also your navel area and close to the genitals and anus. It turns red and the skin becomes scaly and first signs on the skin of this disease can be seen in persons aged between forty and during their fifties. It is normal to notice these signs a few months and sometimes, even years ahead of when you actually feel pain in your joints.

Psoriatic arthritis is not just confined to skin inflammation as well as joint pain, because it will also affect the ligaments as also the tendons of the body, especially the Achilles tendon, which will hurt you a lot when you attempt to walk. Psoriatic arthritis may also inflame the chest wall as also the cartilage linking the ribs with the breast bone and thus lead to considerable chest pain as well as shortness of breath.

Even the major organs of the body are not spared by this condition and you may find your heart and lungs being affected as well. Inflamed lungs will lead to shortness of breath as well as chest pain; more so when attempting to breathe deeply. With the aortic valve in the heart being affected by psoriatic arthritis, there is not only trouble with breathing, but also risk of heart failure.

Diagnosing this condition can often prove to be difficult, especially in its early stages though you may find the fingers or toe nails becoming pitted, which is a sure sign of the onset of the disease. It can even cause the nails to become loose enough to fall off completely. It is a serious condition that affects more than the joints, being able to attack the skin, eyes as well as the major organs, which means that this disease should not be left untreated as it can worsen and become extremely debilitating and can even lead to loss of life in extreme instances.

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