Why you should never wait to treat psoriatic arthritis

When treating psoriatic arthritis, understanding and managing symptoms is key to preventing further pain and joint damage.

Ten to 20 per cent of people who suffer from psoriasis eventually develop psoriatic arthritis. If you are someone who is dealing with psoriatic disease, early intervention by a health care provider can help you.

• With psoriasis, the body's immune system attacks healthy skin cells, producing itchy, scaly red and silver patches.
• Psoriatic arthritis occurs when the body's immune system attacks the joints, triggering inflammation. The actual cause of the autoimmune response is not known, but genetics appears to play a role.

Genetics and environmental factors

• Nearly 40 per cent of individuals with psoriatic arthritis have at least one family member with either psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Infections and physical trauma are environmental factors that sometimes initiate the autoimmune response in people with a genetic predisposition.
• A person with lesions on their nails from psoriasis is more likely to develop psoriatic arthritis, as are people between the ages of 30 and 50.

• Psoriatic arthritis causes excessive inflammation in and around the joints, with symptoms of redness, swelling, stiffness and pain.
• While some symptoms resemble rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis usually affects the hands and feet, producing painful swelling and a sausage-like appearance of the fingers and toes and frequently a pitting of the nails.
• Areas on the feet where tendons and ligaments attach to bone (back of the heel or sole of the foot) can also become painful.

In more severe cases

• Psoriatic arthritis can involve the joints in the spine and pelvis area, causing stiffness, back pain and limited movement.
• Affected joints can be on one side of the body or both, and although the effects of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis grow worse with time, there are alternating periods of remission.

While there is no cure for either psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis, there are oral and injectable medications available to treat both skin and joint symptoms.

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help lessen pain, inflammation and stiffness, and anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are used to ease pain, stiffness and slow joint damage.
• Corticosteroids (oral or injection) are sometimes used for short-term relief of symptoms.

When there's joint damage

Other treatment options include immunosuppressant and biologic drugs used to calm the immune system and slow further joint damage. When joint damage is extensive, surgical joint replacements are often recommended.

Because the joint damage caused by psoriatic arthritis is irreversible, it is important that this disease be diagnosed and treated early.

• If you have been suffering with psoriasis, and have been recently been experiencing joint pain, see your doctor right away.