The word “rheumatism” originated from traditional Chinese medicine. Rheumatism is arthralgia, a disease caused by wind, cold and dampness. In modern medicine, rheumatism is not a disease, but a group of diseases, which refers to a large class of diseases involving joints, muscles, bones and soft tissues around joints, such as tendons, ligaments, bursa, fascia, etc. general term.
At present, there are as many as 10 types of rheumatic immune diseases, more than 100 types of diseases, involving various systems of the body, and the incidence is also increasing. The etiology of rheumatic immune diseases is still unclear, but it has been recognized by experts that it is related to immune disorders. In addition, there are links to genetics, environment and infection.
6 types of rheumatism should be noted
joint symptoms
Mainly joint swelling and pain, there may be redness and warmth of the skin around the joint at the same time, the duration and degree of pain vary, it may be migratory, it may be fixed, or it may occur occasionally .
1. Migratory swelling and pain of large joints of the whole body, rheumatoid arthritis should be considered;
2. Foot For swelling and pain of the metatarsophalangeal joint, gout should be considered first;
3. For migratory pain, polymyalgia rheumatica or fibromyalgia should be considered;
4. Alternating hip pain, stiffness when getting up, relieved after activity, accompanied by swelling and pain in the knee or ankle joint, consider ankylosing spondylitis.
Muscle symptoms
If you find muscle pain and weakness in the limbs, after squatting, it is difficult to stand up, and it is difficult to lift the arms at the same time , purple around the eyes, rash on the chest and back, need to consider dermatomyositis or polymyositis.
Rheumatosis can also cause morning stiffness. After getting up in the morning, I feel stiffness in the joints and lower back, which can be relieved after activities.
In rheumatoid arthritis, morning stiffness can last for more than 1 hour, and rheumatism can also have morning stiffness of varying degrees.
Changes in mucous membranes and skin
Oral ulcers are an observation window for rheumatic immune diseases. Among them, the typical representative is Behcet’s disease, which will recur with oral and vulvar ulcers. Oral ulcers are usually 3 to 5 rice-grain-sized ulcers on the soft palate or throat, or deep or shallow, with a yellow necrotic base in the center. It will last 1 to 2 weeks with varying degrees of pain.
Patients also experience dry mouth, dry eyes, parotid gland enlargement, hair loss, conjunctivitis, sensitivity to light, rashes, nodules, skin hardening, or hyperpigmentation.
In short, if you have recurring skin symptoms that are difficult to explain, in addition to going to a dermatologist, you should think about checking for rheumatism and immune diseases.
Raynaud’s phenomenon
The finger (toe) end appears whitish when the finger (toe) is cold or stressed , and then become purple, red or accompanied by local coldness, numbness, paresthesia, pain at the end of the fingers (toes), severe skin ulceration, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, mixed connective tissue disease, Systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis/polymyositis, etc.
Fever
Fever is a common symptom of rheumatism, which can be manifested as varying degrees of fever, mostly irregular. Fever, generally no chills, no localized infection lesions, antibiotic treatment is ineffective. Therefore, for unexplained fever lasting more than 2 weeks, after regular antibiotics or anti-tuberculosis treatment is ineffective and the tumor is excluded, the possibility of rheumatism should be alerted, and close observation and further related examinations should be carried out.
Other manifestations
For example, easy colds, recurrent blood clots, repeated swelling and pain in the auricle, unexplained weight loss , habitual abortion, generalized pain.
What tests can confirm the diagnosis?
Rheumatic immune diseases can affect the whole body organs, and the symptoms are diverse and complex. There are many ways to diagnose rheumatism clinically. The basic tests are usually called 4 items of rheumatism.
Item 1: Antistreptolysin O (ASO)
The normal value of this test will be affected by Age, climate, prevalence of streptococcus and other influences need to be combined with other test results to make a comprehensive judgment. Elevated ASO suggests group A streptococcal infection and its immune response, eg, rheumatic fever, infective endocarditis.
Item 2: C-reactive protein (CRP)
is an acute phase protein that In the early stages of rheumatoid, elevated C-reactive protein levels can occur.
Item 3: Rheumatoid factor (RF)
It is a bacterial or viral infection that produces its own Antibodies can assist in the identification of rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis and other diseases, will appear RF positive.
Item 4: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
Mainly used for rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Dynamic observation of diseases, and differential diagnosis of certain diseases.
In addition, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, circulating immune complexes, antinuclear antibodies, anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies and other tests may be performed for rheumatism diagnosis, as well as other abnormal antigen or antibody tests.
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