Tag: inflammation

Arthritis medications

Arthritis medications
Robert Kokoska

Patients suffering from arthritis have to undergo a wide range
of treatments which includes medication. There are over 100
medications that are presently being used to treat arthritis.
However medicines at this stage can only help people suffering
from arthritis, and not act as a cure. The medicines can be used
to reduce pain, improve joint mobility, decrease flare-ups and
reduce inflammations.

The aim of this article is to present an insight into 4 main
types of medicines that can be used by arthritis patients.

The first category is called pain-relieving medicines which
include aspirin, paracetemol and ibuprofen. As a matter of fact,
aspirin and ibuprofen are mainly anti-inflammatory drugs;
however they also contain small amounts of pain killing doses.
These pain relieving drugs are available at almost all chemists,
without subscription from doctor.

Anti-inflammatory medicines can be used to
decrease flare-ups and reduce swelling. It comes in two packages
which include Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and
steroids. NSAIDs need to be taken over an extended period of
time so to make it more effective. However its side effects
include stomach problems. It is the most common prescribed
medicine against arthritis. Some NSAIDs include naproxen
(Naprosyn), fenbufen (Lederfen), piroxicam (Feldene) and Cox – 2
inhibitors. However there have been concerns raised about the
safety of Cox-2. Steoids are very effectives against
inflammation. However they can cause harm to the body is used
for a long period of time. They are mainly used to bring severe
cases of arthritis under control before any further
prescriptions are given.

Disease-modifying medicines are used with cases
which involves damage to the immune system such as by rheumatoid
arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. They can be either
taken in by mouth or through injections and deals with the whole
of immune system, instead of the symptoms. Some types of this
kind of medicine are methotrexate, sulfasalazine and gold
(sodium aurothiomalate).

Biologic response modifiers (BRMs) are
increasingly being used in the treatment of arthritis. They were
used to treat severe cases of rheumatoid arthritis, however now
they have assumed a new role and are used to treat patients in
the early stages of arthritis, so to prevent profound damage to
the joints. Although many people with rheumatoid arthritis find
BRMs effective, it is still not suited for everyone with
arthritis. The downside of these products is that they are
expensive and can only be given through injections or infusion.

All medicines contain some side effects. Also these side effects
may vary from patient to patient. Many patients undertaking
arthritis related medicines experience certain side effects such
as stomach pain. Nevertheless arthritis medicines can be very
powerful and can have a profound effect on the body. There are
certain approaches in order to reduce minimize the side effects.
It is important to take to take medicines according to
instructions such as 2 times in the day. Your doctor must be
constantly supervising you so that he or she can see whether the
intake is going according to the plan. Another important aspect
to be taken into account is that the benefit of taking the
medicine shall be weighed against the harm of not taking them.
Arthritis can get worse if no medication is taken.

The reason so many medicines for arthritis has been produced is
to meet specific demand of arthritis patients. Also using one
can have side effects. Therefore the range of medicines allows a
person to choose ones that gives least side effects to him or
her. Before you start taking any medicine, it is essential for
you to contact your family so to great a grip of the actual
situation and choose the medicine that best caters to your
needs. Additionally, it is very important for pregnant women to
consult their doctors. Some medicines contain strong side
effects and can be harmful to the baby. Therefore it is
essential to adjust medication in such cases.

About the author:
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What cause acid reflux disease, its symptoms and treatments

Acid reflux is the common term for gastro esophageal reflux disease or GERD, the condition of abnormal reflux that causes mucosal damages. This disease can affect both adults and children or infants, but gives high vulnerability to pregnant women, smokers and people who doze off right after eating without prior rest.

The symptoms of acid reflux are as follows: heartburn, which is characterized by chest pain; inflammation in the mucosa; difficulty in swallowing; cough and hoarseness. These symptoms are felt by the infected person after eating a fatty meal or drinking liquor, when bending, and worse when constantly smoking.

Acid reflux is primarily caused by the malfunction of the esophageal sphincter. In other cases, it can also be brought about by the abnormal production of the gastric acids. If there is insufficient supply of the stomach acid, the valve in the stomach responsible for churning up foods to the intestine does not open up. This irritates the esophagus and leads to inflammation.

Some of the factors that can trigger acid reflux are hiatus hernia, zollinger-elison syndrome, hypercalcemia, scleroderma and systemic sclerosis.

According to paradoxical beliefs, drinking alcohol, tea and coffee can lead to gastro esophageal reflux. But recent studies show that although individuals already infected by this disease can be aggravated by alcohol, tea and coffee, these elements do not cause the disease. Compared to smoking which amplifies the risks of getting the disease, alcohol, tea and coffee had the least impact. But this doesnt mean that GERD infected people are free to take the beverages stated above. Doctors still suggest avoiding drinking of alcohol in order to shun further aggravation.

Smoking is the chief culprit that causes acid reflux disease. Regular smokers for twenty years are 70% susceptible to acid reflux disease compared to non-smokers. And symptoms of those who already developed the GERD are worsened day by day due to smoking.

The highlight of the research is that great amounts of salts are found to be equivalent to regular smoking in terms of the risk of developing GERD. It is not a common knowledge that table salts can cause acid reflux disease but researchers found out in their studies that people who are constantly using extra salt are 70% at risk to have gastro esophageal reflux disease. Gastroenterologists of New York University Medical Center attested this fact.

Gastro esophageal reflux disease can be diagnosed even by the infected person himself through the appearance of the symptoms. In the occurrence of these symptoms, it is advised to undergo the tests conducted by medical experts to clear doubts of having the disease or to carry out possible treatments. To treat this kind of disorder, there are varieties of ways possible. It can be cured by prescribed drugs such as antacids, by natural way such as change of diet system, elevation of the head when lying down, or to the utmost is surgery. And of course, it will be best to stop or avoid smoking and drinking alcohol especially to people who are vulnerable to acid reflux disease.

Gastro esophageal reflux disease causes a lot of discomfort that it can ruin even your lifestyle. To avoid its bad effects, precautionary measures should be considered. The clich quote that prevention is better than cure applies always.

Arthritis Management Through Diet

Arthritis Management Through Diet
Kathryn Whittaker

The term arthritis refers to the chronic inflammation of joints throughout the body. Arthritis is one of the most rapidly growing chronic conditions in North America. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is also known as wear and tear arthritis and degenerative joint disease. This form of arthritis classically affects the knee joint, the hips and other weight bearing joints. Other forms include rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.

New treatments for arthritis are constantly researched. The most common arthritis medications are non-steroid or steroid anti-inflammatory drugs which, although effective, have serious side-effects. They can have unpleasant side effects: cause weight gain, acne, osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, cataracts and infections. The side effects of steroids impact on almost every system of the body, and the more steroids you take, the more side effects you are likely to experience.

The newest findings link arthritis not only to poor diet and obesity, but also to the overall state of the immune system. Quite recently, researchers have found a protein in the immune system that malfunctioned in patients who have arthritis or other inflammatory diseases. Doctors believe they can block this protein to reduce the need for steroids.

As the general population ages, the number of people with arthritis is growing. Today arthritis medications are aimed at baby-boomers who have spent more years living with obesity than the previous generation. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that there are more cases of obesity-related arthritis among baby boomers compared to the previous generation.

What we eat often plays a large role in setting the stage for the start of arthritis. There are a few changes anyone can make to their diet to successfully offset arthritis even without using arthritis medications.

The typical North American diet contains an overwhelming amount of cooked, processed and other acid forming foods. A healthy diet should be 70lkaline and 30cidic. Unfortunately, the average North American diet has reversed this ratio.

Instead of eating cooked foods that are acid forming, a diet of mostly raw, fresh vegetables, fruits and reducing the consumption of meats are an excellent way to help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

To ease your arthritis symptoms without succumbing to arthritis medications, avoid foods that form acid in your body. These foods include bread, coffee, corn, honey, oatmeal, peanuts, rice, soy, pasta and wheat. When treating arthritis, stay away from saturated fats, such as butter, cream, and margarine.

Antioxidants in brightly colored fruits and vegetables offer substantial protection against arthritis. By eating more yellow and orange fruits and vegetables you will consume antioxidants called carotenoids, which can lower your chances of developing inflammatory arthritis. Some dietitians suggest that night-shade vegetables are unsuitable for arthritis patients, which means you should think twice about eating peppers, (red, green and yellow), potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants.

Build your arthritis diet around such alkaline-forming products as most berries, bananas, dates, figs, prunes, raisins, almonds, asparagus, avocado, fresh beans, beets, carrots, grapes, plums, spinach, apricots, broccoli, all kind of cabbage, cantaloupe, celery, cherries, chestnuts, chicory, coconut milk, fresh sweet corn and cucumbers. Focusing on vegetables instead of proteins will ease many other symptoms and help you reduce weight too.

Proper hydration is a must. Drink half your weight in ounces that would be 75 oz of water for a person weighing 150 pounds. If you must drink alcohol, coffee or soda, drink an extra 16 oz of water for every alcoholic drink and cup of coffee or soda you consume in addition to the water you would normally drink.

Arthritis is a condition that takes years to develop. In many cases, arthritis can be avoided or effectively managed through the use of alternative methods that include proper nutrition, hydration and specific nutritional supplements that can reduce the damage done to aging joints.

About the author:

Kathryn writes articles on a number of different topics. For more information on Arthritis please visit http://www.arthritis-resource.comand for additional articles on Arthritis http://www.arthritis-resource.com/arthritis-articles/

Symptoms and Natural Cure for Acid Reflux

How would a person know if he or she has acid reflux? How does acid reflux feel like? It is a burning sensation that affects the upper abdomen after a heavy meal when a person is already relaxing. Later, the pain goes up to the breastbone and to the chest. From this discomfort, it can lead to the inflammation of the esophagus, indigestion, hoarseness and many other symptoms.

Acid reflux disease is the condition that gives uneasiness to many adults including infants by causing sudden pains and burning in the chest. Its most common symptom is called heartburn. The condition is characterized by refluxing or backing up of the stomach acid into the esophagus. While heartburn can normally take place sometimes, it cannot be always rated as acid reflux disease. But if heartburn occurs twice to thrice a week, it is more probably a symptom of acid reflux.

In many cases, the symptoms of acid reflux disease occur after a fatty meal, when drinking liquor or beverages which contains caffeine, when lying down right after meal and worse when smoking. And because of these unpleasant sensations brought about by acid reflux, it can severely affect your health and your lifestyle. A number of people who suffered from this disease also suffered in the quality of lifestyle. Who would be enjoying life if there were a constant reminder of pain? The symptoms are so obvious that you do not need a doctor to diagnose it.

For this particular disease, there could be a variety of treatments that you can choose from. Symptoms which occur less than five times in a month can easily be treated by over the counter medicines. The doctor can give you pieces of advice on the kind of medicine appropriate for you. However, if your body does not work well with the prescribed medicines, it would be best to shift to a new one or seek for another option. Medicines formulated from natural herbs have less or no side effects.

For cases of acute acid reflux, surgical treatment may already be recommended to you. The standard treatment that has been preferred for a long time is called nissen fundoplication. In this surgical procedure, the stomach is wrapped to reinforce the sphincter and thereby preventing the stomach acid from refluxing.

In any manner, the effective way of finding relief from acid reflux symptoms is the natural way. Some simple steps that can work together with your medications will effectively cast away your suffering from this disease. A modified lifestyle will help you make things better. Things to be changed include your dietary habits, refraining from smoking and minimizing the alcohol intake. Salty foods have been found out to aggravate acid reflux disease as much as the fatty foods. Taking extra table salts in your meal can expose you to graver risks.

Obesity doesn’t only harm the heart but can worsen acid reflux disease as well. The excess fat in the abdomen amplifies the pressure in it causing the stomach acid to rise up to the gullet. So diet must be intensively watched out so as to avoid the symptoms and the discomfort they caused.

Natural cure of this disease also includes exercise. Proper stretching can help reduce the pressure on your stomach and subsequently helping you fight the symptoms of acid reflux disease.

If you can follow the preventive measures against acid reflux disease, then you are on your way to beating acid reflux without turning to medications.