There are 206 bones in an adult human skeleton. Joints are the places where two bones come into contact such as knee or elbow. Arthritis is a broad term used for more than 100 conditions that mainly affect the joints. The problems related to arthritis include swelling, stiffness, pain, inflammation, and damage to the joints. Some kinds of arthritis also affect lungs, heart, kidneys, eyes or skin.
Understanding reactive arthritis
When your immune system (body’s defense mechanism) reacts to the infection you already had in your intestines or genital tract or urinary tract, and causes swelling or pain in your joints of the knee, ankles and feet, such condition is called reactive arthritis. A condition called as Reiter syndrome is a sub type of reactive arthritis that mainly affects joints, urethra and eyes.
Reactive arthritis may be triggered by Chlamydia Trachomatis that causes sexually transmitted infection (STI), Chlamydia Pneumonia responsible for causing respiratory tract infection or by Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia responsible for food poisoning, and Campylobacter that causes gastrointestinal infection. Reactive arthritis may affect men between the ages of 20 and 40 and the risk of developing reactive arthritis is 9 times more in men than in women.
Diagnosing reactive arthritis
Because the signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis are mild, it can go undiagnosed for a long time. Reactive arthritis cannot be diagnosed with a single laboratory test. The presence of reactive arthritis can only be confirmed when the results of various tests are taken together.
Your doctor may do a physical examination, and record your complete medical history including past and current symptoms. The doctor may order specific blood tests,
- To check whether you have been infected with any of the reactive arthritis triggering bacteria
- To check whether you have high sedimentation rate of your red blood cells (The speed at which your red blood cells settle at the bottom of the test tube) as high sedimentation rate indicates inflammation.
- To check whether you are free of rheumatoid arthritis (A type of arthritis that affects the fluid in the sack of the joint)
- To check whether you have any specific characteristics inherited by birth that makes you more inclined to suffer from reactive arthritis
The doctor may take sample of the fluid of the joint to test whether there is any infection in your joint. In reactive arthritis, there is no infection of the fluid in the joint. The joint fluid test also helps the doctor to check whether the fluid has any crystals of uric acid (Excessive amounts of uric acid in the blood can form crystals and generally affects big toe), a condition which is called gout and also to rule out reactive arthritis. Your doctor may require conducting tests of other body fluids such as urine, stools, genital secretions and throat mucus to check for any infections.
X-ray tests may be ordered to check whether you have any specific characteristics of reactive arthritis and to asses swelling and damage caused to the joint.
Treating reactive arthritis
Though there is no cure for reactive arthritis, for most people the good news is that reactive arthritis goes off within 3-4 months. For some, the pain and swelling may come back again and again. If this happens, always consult your doctor.
Your doctor may prescribe medications to relieve the signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis. Antibiotics may be prescribed to eliminate the causative bacteria that triggered reactive arthritis. These antibiotics are generally taken for 7-10 days and in some cases for a longer period of up to 3 months.
To relieve the pain and swelling, your doctor may prescribe pain killers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. Some of the more advanced medications are available on prescription. Depending on how you react, your doctor may prescribe different types of pain killers to relieve your pain and swelling. If your doctor cannot control the inflammation of the joint through pain killers, corticosteroids (drugs which are closely related to cortisol, a natural hormone produced in the outer layer of adrenal gland) may be prescribed for local application in the form of creams, lotions and gels. If it is required, your doctor may inject the corticosteroid directly into the joint to relieve the pain.
Reactive arthritis is immune system’s reaction to the infection in some other parts of the body, and if other treatments become futile, your doctor may prescribe medications to suppress your immune system’s reaction. In order to counter body’s inflammatory response, certain biological medications may be given to block the effect of the protein (cytokine) namely tumor necrosis factor (TNF) responsible for the inflammatory response.
Depending on the joint involved, your doctor may recommend range of physical exercises involving the limbs of the joints affected by reactive arthritis to strengthen the joint muscles, improve movement, reduce stiffness of the joints and relieve pain.
Managing reactive arthritis
You can do better in dealing with reactive arthritis by following these simple rules:
- Do not miss taking the medications prescribed by your doctor
- If you are diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), ensure that your partner is also tested and free of any STD.
- Ensure to follow safe sex practices.
- Avoid being the target of food poisoning. Cook the meats, vegetables and foods properly and clean the utensils properly.
- If your doctor has recommended any physical exercise regimen for your joints, ensure to follow the instructions.
Counter-attack reactive arthritis!
Reactive arthritis is body’s reaction to infection in some other parts such as urinary tract, GI tract and respiratory tract resulting in the swelling and inflammation of the joints. The cause of the reactive arthritis may be infection or could be food poisoning affecting mostly men of the age of 20 to 40 years. Though there is no single test to diagnose reactive arthritis, your doctor can identify reactive arthritis through variety of tests including physical exam. Though there is no cure, reactive arthritis may disappear within 3-4 months in some men and the symptoms can be controlled through various medications. Most importantly reactive arthritis can be effectively managed if simple tips are followed.
