Reactive arthritis is a systemic disease (belongs to the same group as rheumatism), that is, when it is present, the entire body suffers: some tissues of the eye, heart, and kidneys may be affected. Inflammation of the joints is the absolute and most prominent symptom, which is why this common disease is called arthritis, but treating painful joints alone will not have any effect.
Any stress factor can lead to an outbreak of reactive arthritis: hypothermia, excessive physical activity, injury to the knee joint. The subjective clinical picture is as follows:
It is impossible to make a diagnosis of reactive arthritis without undergoing specific tests: blood (a serological reaction is performed to identify a gene predisposing to RA), urine and/or coprogram (to identify antibodies to a previous infectious disease). However, damage to the knee joints has characteristic features:
All these criteria, combined with knee pain, make it possible to make a diagnosis.
Most often, when knee pain occurs, patients first self-administer an anti-inflammatory ointment. But since reactive arthropathy is a pathology not of the joint itself, but of the immune system, such treatment eliminates pain only for a while, and then stops helping altogether. At this stage, they usually consult a doctor. After confirming the diagnosis, the doctor first prescribes general and local treatment.
Typically, local treatment is aimed at eliminating symptoms rather than fighting the disease itself. But if general treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs turns out to be ineffective, hormonal drugs - glucocorticosteroids - are prescribed as the main method:
These drugs are injected into the capsule of the diseased joint. Thus, most of the medicine will not spread beyond the joint, and the side effects that glucocorticosteroids inevitably cause will be much less pronounced.
If the general treatment of arthritis is intended for a long term, then the use of local agents makes sense only at the beginning, in the presence of symptoms of inflammation.
Local treatment of the affected joint includes:
When the inflammation has been relieved and joint movements no longer cause pain, rehabilitation measures can be carried out:
Important! If reactive arthropathy is in the acute stage, heating and mechanical stress will aggravate the inflammatory process.
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Reactive arthritis is a systemic disease that occurs as a result of inflammation of the membrane of infectious origin (synovial). A distinctive factor of the disease is the absence of viable microorganisms at the time of sowing. This disease develops due to exposure to genitourinary or gastrointestinal pathogens.
The disease can most often be found in people aged 20-40 years. Reactive arthritis also occurs in children.
This disease is associated with infections that are sexually transmitted (gonorrhea or chlamydia) and can be found much more often in men than in women. During food poisoning, the disease is equally common in both sexes.
Symptoms of reactive arthritis most often last from 3 months to a year, but only in some patients the symptoms may return, or the condition may last a little longer.
A significant factor in correctly determining the diagnosis of reactive arthritis is collecting an anamnesis of the disease. Laboratory tests for treatment are divided into primary and secondary.
An increase in ESR, anemia in a clinical blood test and polymorphonuclear leukocytosis are monitored. Rheumatoid factor is often absent. During a general urine test, bacteriuria and pyuria (in some cases) are typical. During the examination of synovial fluid, moderate leukocytosis is detected, ranging from 5000 to 50,000 mm3. The presence of neutrophils is characterized by acute reactive arthritis, and in chronic arthritis, monocytes and lymphocytes predominate. A significant indicator is a decrease in the viscosity of the synovial fluid, as well as an increase in protein content (different from effusion during rheumatoid arthritis).
An increase in C-reactive protein is observed. During radiography, the presence of enthesitis, spondylitis, arthritis, and sacroiliitis (in some cases) is noted.
1. In order to relieve pain from reactive arthritis, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment during the first meeting. This course may consist of immunomodulators, NSAIDs, and antitoxic drugs. Swelling, pain, and limited mobility may subside after 5-6 hours.
2. The doctor can also take tests to detect the causative agent of reactive arthritis. This analysis will also tell you which medicine is safer and easier to suppress the infection. Test results are often obtained within a couple of days, then a full course of treatment for reactive arthritis is prescribed.
3. Antibiotics are often necessary for patients with reactive arthritis to kill pathogens. In this case, we select a good probiotic; it protects the intestines from dysbiosis.
4. It is rare to find reactive arthritis, which develops without previous disorders of the immune system. At the last stage of treatment for this disease, an immunological blood test is performed to clarify what exactly the patient’s immunity is lacking. Immunomodulatory treatment is then recommended. This procedure will minimize the risk of further relapse of reactive arthritis.
It's no secret that every drug has its own side effects. It is important to discuss this issue with the attending physician; he must inform how seriously they can affect the patient’s health.
A mandatory manifestation of the disease is articular syndrome, which is characterized by:
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Arthritis of the hip joint develops at the stage when the hands, knees, and so on are already affected. The only exception is reactive arthritis. In this case, inflammatory processes arise as a result of impaired blood flow in the joint and a deficiency of synovial fluid, without which the friction process becomes more complicated.
The disease develops slowly, much depends on the individual characteristics of the human body and the cause of arthritis. In young people, coxitis develops more quickly. In the initial stage of the disease, there is a feeling of rapid fatigue of the joint, stiffness of movements appears in the morning, muscle pain, pain in the joint and groin. As coxitis progresses, the mobility of the joint decreases even more, inflammation of the articular tissues occurs, exudate accumulates inside it, which leads to the appearance of significant swelling, redness, and the joint may be hot to the touch. In more advanced cases, the joint completely loses mobility, and the performance of its functions becomes very difficult or completely impossible.
In some cases, acute development of coxitis is possible, the symptoms of which at the beginning of the disease are similar to those of a cold or flu. Such manifestations as high temperature, loss of appetite, chills, weakness, body and joint aches are observed, and then symptoms of joint damage are added. Such symptoms are more often observed with purulent arthritis of the hip joint. If treatment is not carried out at this stage, the disease becomes chronic.
In the rheumatoid form of coxitis, along with damage to the joint, involvement of the whole organism in the pathological process is observed. Deformation of the limbs, anemia, colitis, constipation and other manifestations are possible.
Purulent bursitis of the knee joint here
The most common causes of the occurrence and development of arthritis of the hip joint include:
Of course, the most important symptom of this disease is pain, which is observed locally in the area of the affected joint. Depending on the causes that led to the disease, various symptoms of arthritis may appear, for example:
Pain that decreases with movement. It is this symptom that distinguishes arthritis from arthrosis, during which joint pain increases with movement. During the day, with normal physical activity of a person, pain may decrease and by evening disappear altogether.
Stiffness of movement is observed in the affected joint. This sensation appears especially in the morning after sleep or after a long stay in one position.
Swelling may occur in the hip joint area, and the skin around the joint may become red. In addition, an increased temperature may be observed in the area of the affected joint.
If degenerative joint diseases caused by the destruction of cartilage (osteoarthrosis) are the most common in adults, then children are more susceptible to inflammatory diseases (arthritis).
Due to age characteristics, the state of immunity and the high sensitivity of the body, hip arthritis in children occurs much more often than in adults and is more acute with pronounced signs of local and general inflammation.
Pyogenic (purulent) coxitis is especially dangerous for young children. If not diagnosed in a timely manner, in advanced cases it can lead to death.
Children more often than adults suffer from tuberculous arthritis of the hip joint. At the onset of the disease, it may occur without pronounced symptoms; pain may occur only during physical activity.
Infectious damage to the hip joint can occur with many childhood infections: more often with mumps, meningococcal infection, less often with chickenpox, rubella, measles, infectious mononucleosis, intestinal, acute respiratory infections. Children are also more susceptible to reactive coxitis than adults.
Coxitis in children can sometimes occur as a reaction to vaccinations. The development of reactive or allergic forms is possible, but the symptoms quickly disappear against the background of antiallergic treatment.
It is important to know! When coxitis occurs against the background of other diseases, taking antipyretics can “erase” the symptoms of inflammation. If a child refuses to walk, is afraid to step on a foot, stumbles, or falls, an urgent need to consult a doctor to rule out coxitis.
Inflammatory lesions of the hip joint in children in the early stages of disease can occur with ankylosing spondylitis and juvenile psoriatic arthritis. In other systemic diseases, as a rule, the hip joint is involved in the process last.
Manifestations of the disease in childhood
In children, coxitis can occur for the following reasons:
The last two forms of childhood arthritis are somewhat similar, but there are differences in them: “rheumatism licks the joints, bites the heart, rheumatoid arthritis licks the heart, bites the joints.” In other words, with rheumatism, despite the rich symptoms specifically in the joints, irreversible changes do not occur in them, but the heart suffers more, and acquired defects are formed. Rheumatoid arthritis leads to permanent deformation and dysfunction of the joints.
Rheumatoid arthritis of the hip joint is a chronic connective tissue disease that manifests itself as progressive damage to the articular surfaces of the pelvis. The development of the disease is often preceded by some kind of infectious disease: influenza, sore throat, etc.
Rheumatoid arthritis of the hip joint symptoms . Aching pain in the affected hip joints is most intense in the morning and subsides in the evening. Patients whose pathological process has affected the pelvic brushes feel stiffness and pain when lifting and walking. In the first few months after the onset of the disease, swelling around the joints is clearly visible, and a decrease in muscle volume (atrophy) is observed.
Further, the general symptoms of inflammation increase, and weight loss is possible. At this time, a syndrome such as deforming arthritis of the hip joint appears.
Reactive arthritis of the hip joint develops as a complication after infectious diseases. Infections that can cause this form of coxitis are divided into:
The simultaneous manifestation of arthritis, damage to the eyes, skin and genitourinary system is called Reiter's syndrome.
And so what is purulent arthritis of the hip joint? This disease occurs against a background of general weakness, fever and increased sweating. The pain does not subside, but intensifies with movement. The inflamed joint becomes reddish-purple in color and swollen.
Tuberculous arthritis of the hip joint develops slowly. A gradual increase in aching pain of moderate intensity is observed, which often radiates to the knee or spreads from the groin along the inner side of the thigh. After six months, muscle atrophy, visually noticeable in comparison with the healthy side, occurs, which is especially pronounced in the gluteal and femoral region. Patients begin to limp 1-2 months after the onset of pain. Acute tuberculous coxitis practically does not occur.
An early clinical sign is Alexandrov's symptom - thickening and delayed straightening of a fold of skin grasped by the fingers on the side of the affected joint. Due to pain, over time the leg takes on a typical bent and abducted position (contracture occurs). Subsequently, the joint is destroyed and bone ankylosis occurs (fusion of bones, complete immobility of the joint).
Tuberculous coxitis is primary bone. General symptoms are not expressed (an evening increase in body temperature is possible). There are no periods of remission; symptoms progress steadily. Tuberculous coxitis can be combined with tuberculosis of other organs (usually the lungs) or be an independent disease.
Treatment of hip arthritis should be comprehensive and effective. It is based on many different methods, but a significant place is given to the following:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroid hormones can be irritating to the stomach when taken for a long time. They stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and reduce the production of protective substances called mucoproteins in the stomach.
It is important to remember about drug treatment of the disease with pharmaceutical drugs that help relieve pain and inflammation. The effect of anti-inflammatory drugs is enhanced if they are used together with glucocorticosteroids (preferably by injection). For purulent arthritis, antibiotics are used;
Changes in the knee joint in reactive arthritis
Reactive arthritis is changes in the joints that occur after an infectious disease. The incubation period lasts from 2 weeks to 2 months. There are many microorganisms that can cause this pathology. Reactive arthritis that occurs against the background of chlamydial infection, accompanied by damage to the eyes and urogenital tract, is called Reiter's syndrome.
Reactive arthritis is more common in men, typically occurring at the age of 20-40 years, and there is a hereditary predisposition (HLA B 27 antigen).
Reactive arthropathy develops soon after an infectious disease. This happens because the structure of the cells of some microorganisms is similar in structure to the cells of the human body. The immune system begins to fight not only microbes, but also its own cells, similar in composition to them. The likelihood of joint damage increases with a genetic predisposition. This is how reactive arthritis occurs. It is important to promptly recognize the disease and begin treatment.
With Reiter's syndrome, the genitourinary system is first affected by chlamydia, then the joints and mucous membrane of the eyes are involved in the pathological process.
Typically, polyarthritis occurs against the background of the following infections:
In addition to infectious diseases, vaccination can provoke reactive polyarthritis. This mechanism of the disease is more typical for children.
Manifestations of reactive arthritis are divided into the following subgroups:
Occurs in many diseases. Since the symptoms are blurred, treatment may be prescribed late. Be careful!
If the infectious process that provoked the development of joint manifestations is not treated, then it becomes chronic. Under unfavorable conditions for the body, the infection worsens, which can lead to worsening of arthritis.
Joint manifestations: View of the knee joint with reactive arthritis (on the right) in comparison with a healthy one (on the left in the picture)
Lesions of the knee joint in reactive arthritis are most common, in contrast to rheumatoid arthritis, in which small joints are more often affected.
A triad of symptoms is typical:
Manifestations can be very diverse: from redness, the appearance of rashes to increased keratinization of the skin - hyperkeratosis.
The following changes may occur:
Based on the nature of the flow, the following types are distinguished:
Includes medical history, examination, laboratory and instrumental examination methods.
When collecting an anamnesis of the disease, attention is paid to the symptoms of the disease, the connection with infection, hereditary predisposition to joint disease, the duration of the course, whether the treatment is effective, etc.
They carry out an inspection. Pay attention to the symptoms of damage to the joints, most often the knee (symmetry of the damage, involvement of periarticular tissues in the process, mono or polyarthritis).
When examining the eyes, they look for redness of the conjunctiva and the presence of increased lacrimation.
When examining the genital organs, hyperemia of the mucous membranes and the presence or absence of discharge are revealed.
Pay attention to the presence or absence of rashes on the skin and mucous membranes.
Comparative diagnosis of reactive arthritis
When making a conclusion, a differential diagnosis is made with other diseases characterized by joint damage. Reactive polyarthritis has its own characteristics.
Laboratory methods used in the diagnosis of reactive arthritis:
To confirm polyarthritis, instrumental research methods are used:
Differential diagnosis of reactive arthritis
When treatment is completed, the symptoms of inflammation are not determined, then massage and exercise therapy of the knee joint are performed. It is possible to use physiotherapeutic procedures in the knee joint area.
Treatment must be comprehensive.
To prevent reactive arthritis from recurring and its symptoms from becoming chronic, you need to follow the recommendations:
Among all the arthritis encoded in MBK-10, these inflammatory joint diseases begin with code M05, and contain many variants officially registered in medicine.
Reactive arthritis is one of the allergic diseases. If the body has an underlying disease of infectious etiology, then reactive arthritis in the knee joint will not take long to appear. Natural solution - reactive arthritis affects young men who are active and promiscuous. The price to pay for promiscuity in sexual relations and in choosing sexual partners is the development of reactive arthritis. A responsible medical decision - the prerequisite for pathology is the immune response to infection with sexually transmitted diseases, chlamydia, and gonococci.
These pathogens are spread sexually, so let it not surprise men that among the first diagnostic tests, the doctor prescribes an examination for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. Immunity weakened by STDs responds to infectious diseases of all organs and systems, especially the musculoskeletal system.
Arthritis of reactive etiology is a systemic disease belonging to the group of rheumatic pathologies; its presence in the body affects eye tissue and affects the functions of the kidneys and heart. Joint inflammation is a pronounced symptom, which is why it is called arthritis, but it should be remembered that treating diseased joints will not lead to a positive result.
The occurrence of reactive arthritis is associated with many reasons, which not only appear in clinical tests, but also depend on living conditions. The photo usually shows a difference in the outline of the knees, and the patient differs significantly in size, swelling, and skin color.
Medical research has established that reactive arthritis is caused not only by gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Arthritis reacts reactively to its appearance in the body:
But most often, reactive arthritis is diagnosed in the presence of chlamydia, which affects the genital organs - the cervix in women, the urethra in men. At the same time, they develop inflammation in the knee joints, a rash on the skin, upset intestines, and chlamydial conjunctivitis develops.
The factor that affects various organs is not chlamydia or shigella themselves, but immune complexes formed in the bloodstream due to the combination of a protein with a bacterial cell. That is, reactive arthritis in a person develops due to a failure of the immune system. However, home treatment can lead to the spread of infection through dishes and common household items to other family members, and children are most susceptible to this.
In this regard, reactive arthritis of the knee joint in children is very indicative, which doctors sometimes mistake for a rheumatic form of arthritis of the knees, however, here we must look for the causes in infection with Shigella, an intestinal infection. Doctors are sounding the alarm: reactive arthrosis has already been recorded in 10% of preschool children.
Based on the consonance of the words: the reaction of the immune system, arthritis is called “reactive”. In a child, with his immune system not perfect and not strengthened throughout life, such “disruptions” seriously undermine the general condition of the body and do not allow the immune system to develop protective forces. The “history” of a baby’s illness can begin in utero development, when an infected mother, by the time the child is conceived, remains untreated for coccal infections, colds, intestinal disorders, and ureaplasmosis.
Among the main causes of reactive arthritis in both childhood and adulthood is CMV - cytomegalovirus, an infection that affects the human body at the DNA level with herpes Herpesviridae. Its treatment causes a lot of trouble for doctors, because they deeply affect the human body, deeper than the cellular level.
The modern world around us is ready to provoke reactive arthropathy; for this there are many pathogenic microorganisms. Ureaplasma - Ureaplasma urealyticum - was identified by the latest medical technologies, which identified it as a polymerase chain reaction in enzyme immunoassay studies. This is one of the newly appeared mutated microorganisms identified in studies of female and male flora.
In children, reactive arthritis of the knee joint caused by ureaplasma is difficult and long to treat. Ureaplasma itself is not as dangerous as the type of arthrosis causative agent, but the immune response is complex, where the formed polymerase chain is difficult to untangle in order to bring the immune cells back to normal.
Even more dangerous are cocci, the family of which in nature is large enough to cause a lot of trouble to humans. Cocci are non-motile bacteria, but in the human body they cause serious illnesses with pronounced symptoms - sore throat, scarlet fever, rheumatoid arthritis. Pathogens are very stable, it is difficult to get rid of them, and not all medications have a detrimental effect on them.
Treatment with antibiotics and immunomodulators is required. After antibiotics, you will need to restore the microflora and replenish the body with vitamins and microelements. The treatment does not last a month, but much longer. It is often necessary to change antibiotics if control tests show their resistance to medications. On the advice of a doctor, you can supplement planned treatment with traditional methods, if they are appropriate at this stage of the disease. Herbal medicine recipes are used more based on reviews from patients whom they have already helped in treatment.
Respiratory pathogens cause complex inflammatory diseases and, at the same time, complications, one of which is arthrosis. Since children often suffer from colds, knee arthrosis is a frequent visitor to children of preschool and primary school age.
Note! The causes of reactive arthritis can be not only medical, but also ordinary everyday ones, when children grow up in poor living conditions, often experience stress due to quarrels between parents, and do not eat properly. Against this background, their immunity decreases, unable to fight complex pathogens.
Inflammation inside the joints is the main clinical manifestation of the disease. In addition, the color of the skin and mucous membranes change. Often conjunctivitis develops unexpectedly, erosive ulcers form in the mouth, and cystitis appears. A rash on the palms and soles subsequently causes keratinization of the skin. The nails on the fingers and toes become brittle.
Reactive arthritis affects the lower extremities, most often located on the knee joints. Accompanied by inflammation of connective and muscle tissues. The treatment plan should include a medicinal effect not only on reactive arthritis, but also on the complex of complications caused by its “population” in the body.
It is necessary to pay attention if the child complains of pain in the knees after urination or diarrhea, “something is bothering” the lower back, the shape of the toes changes, and lameness appears. These are clear signs of reactive arthritis, when it is important for parents to consult a doctor in time. We must start, of course, with the pediatrician. After the initial examination, the child undergoes consultations with a nephrologist and rheumatologist. However, even pediatricians will mistake conjunctivitis for an allergy and send mother and baby to an ophthalmologist.
Whereas the child requires a proper examination, which the pediatrician must conduct in order to exclude systematic manifestations of arthritis:
Systemic diseases - glomerulonephritis, pleurisy, cardiac pathologies are accompanied by manifestations of reactive arthritis, but this is not considered a complication, it should be considered a single disease of the body, and treated not according to individual symptoms, but in the complex manifestation of the clinical picture. The ability of pathogens to persist – long-term survival in the human body – significantly complicates treatment.
Must be taken into account! Reactive arthritis of the knee joints can only be cured with a correct diagnosis and a comprehensive therapeutic approach to treatment. In the absence of a well-structured line of therapy, reactive arthritis becomes chronic, further complicating the possibility of treatment.
One of the consequences of infectious diseases is reactive arthritis of the knee joint in children and adults. The appearance of this pathology is characterized by severe pain in the knee area, swelling and swelling of the skin in the affected area, and impaired functioning of the lower extremities. Treatment of the disease involves an integrated approach using antibacterial, anti-inflammatory drugs and physiotherapeutic procedures for the affected limb.
The occurrence of reactive arthritis in the knee joint is always associated with the presence of bacteria in the human body. The main cause of the disease is the response of the immune system to the prolonged presence of a chronic infection in it. The pathological process is caused not by the causative agent of the disease itself and the products of its activity, but by immune complexes circulating in the blood - special protein compounds with bacterial cells. According to localization, the disease is characterized by a unilateral lesion, damaging the joints of the right or left knee. The appearance of reactive knee arthritis is provoked by:
Most often, reactive arthritis affects the knee joint with the development of chlamydia. But the cause of the formation of pathology can also be intestinal enterobacteria or Shigella.
A feature of reactive knee arthritis is the rapidity of its onset. The acute nature of the disease is due to the development of inflammation in the joint tissues of the knee in the form of a reaction to other pathological abnormalities in the body. The presence of pathogenic bacteria in it leads to the formation of antibodies that bind infection antigens and contribute to their elimination. The prolonged course of the disease causes an accumulation of compounds - antigen-antibody, which settle in the tissues of the joints and cause their deformation.
Symptoms of reactive arthritis of the knee joint develop in stages:
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Reactive arthritis of the knee in childhood is a complication of an infectious disease. Joint damage in a child occurs asymmetrically. The peculiarity of the pathology is simultaneous damage to no more than 4 joints. The causes of the inflammatory process in children can be whooping cough, measles, tonsillitis, ARVI. Preceding factors for the formation of pathology include:
Often the development of pathological processes in the knee in children provokes complications in the visual organs. Therefore, if any signs of knee arthritis appear in a child, it is necessary to take antibacterial and anti-inflammatory medications, eye drops in combination with immunosuppressive therapy.
Knee arthritis develops 30 days after an infectious disease. To determine the causes of the disease and the presence of pathological abnormalities in the joints, the following diagnostic methods are used:
Reactive arthritis needs to be treated comprehensively. The main goals of treatment therapy:
The choice of medications in the fight against the disease depends on the causative agent of the disease and structural changes in the knee joint. The table shows effective medications and their effect on the patient’s body:
It occurs as a reaction to an infectious disease, for example, in the genitals, urinary system or gastrointestinal tract. Arthritis usually develops 2-4 weeks after the infection occurs.
Reactive arthritis can be caused by various bacterial infections, most often infections of the genitourinary system or gastrointestinal tract.
In reactive arthritis caused by an infection of the genitourinary system, the triggering factor is infectious processes in the genitals, bladder or urethra.
If the infectious process is associated with food poisoning, then this condition is called enteroarthritis. 1 to 2% of people with food poisoning may develop joint inflammation within a few weeks.
Genetic predisposition also plays a role in the development of the disease (most people with reactive arthritis have the HLA-B27 gene).
Reactive arthritis most often occurs between the ages of 20 and 40. Men are much more likely than women to develop reactive arthritis associated with sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia or gonorrhea). Reactive arthritis due to food poisoning is equally common in men and women.
Pain and swelling, most commonly in the knee, elbow and toe joints, are usually the first signs of reactive arthritis. Other joints (wrist, elbow, spine and fingers) may also become inflamed.
Reactive arthritis due to infections of the genitourinary system is often accompanied by signs of inflammation of the prostate and urethra in men, the bladder, uterus or vagina in women. In this case, there may be a frequent urge to urinate (a feeling of an urgent need to urinate), as well as a burning sensation during urination. Pain, irritation and redness of the eyes, and blurred vision are associated with conjunctivitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane covering the eyeball and eyelid), which can occur before the development of arthritis or simultaneously with joint damage.
Since there are no specific signs for reactive arthritis, the diagnosis is most often made by excluding other causes of joint inflammation. To make a correct diagnosis, it is important for the doctor to question the patient in detail, carefully examine him and analyze laboratory data (including blood and urine tests).
The doctor may prescribe various medications. In this case, it is necessary to treat both joint damage and the infectious disease itself. The choice of antibacterial agents for the treatment of a bacterial infection that causes reactive arthritis is determined by the causative agent of the infection. You must take the full course prescribed by your doctor. NSAIDs are used to reduce pain and inflammation in joints. To achieve a good effect, they should be taken regularly. For severe joint damage, glucocorticosteroids are injected directly into the inflamed joint. In some cases, for very severe arthritis that does not respond to the use of NSAIDs and corticosteroids, drugs that affect the immune system are prescribed.
Any drug can have side effects. It is important to discuss with your doctor what effects may occur, how likely they are to occur, and how seriously they may affect your condition.
Symptoms of reactive arthritis usually last from 3 to 12 months, but in a small percentage of patients, symptoms may return or the condition may be prolonged.