StemCell Therapy

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like to know how to treat arthritis. I have been using Voltaren per my doctors orders, but it does not seem to be helping much. I have also been taking ibuprofen, but I am afraid of stomach bleeding. The arthritis is in my wrists and thumb. I can hardly open a doorknob or lift any small objects. Does turmeric help?

I would appreciate any advice you can give me. It is hard to do any cooking or housework using my hands. They ache and throb all day. M.V.

ANSWER: There are several different types of arthritis of the hand, and it sounds as though your doctor has made the diagnosis of osteoarthritis, which is the most common type. Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are inflammatory varieties that require very different therapies. Blood testing and X-rays help separate the different types of arthritis from one another if your history and physical exam indicate the need.

If you have osteoarthritis, oral anti-inflammatory medicines like Voltaren or ibuprofen (but NEVER both taking two different NSAIDs orally adds only toxicity, not effectiveness) are common and often effective treatments. Voltaren is also available as a gel, and its OK to use both Voltaren gel and a different oral NSAID such as ibuprofen. The gel is poorly absorbed into the body and is very unlikely to have systemic side effects.

However, remember that exercise improves pain and function. One set of exercises specifically for hand arthritis from the Mayo Clinic can be found at tinyurl.com/mayo-hand.

You asked about turmeric. There are studies showing benefit for turmeric and it has little toxicity, so I think it is worth a try. Similarly, Boswellia supplements have shown benefit in some people with osteoarthritis.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I tested positive for COVID-19 about six weeks ago. I had very mild symptoms for about 24 hours. I lost my sense of taste and smell. My senses are slowly returning, but now I constantly have a strange taste in my mouth. I cant tell if its a metallic taste or not. Eating, drinking, chewing gum, brushing, etc., make it go away for 10 minutes. Is this COVID-related or something else? Will it go away? -- M.R.

ANSWER: While I cant answer with certainty, many people with COVID-19 have disturbances in taste and smell that take weeks or months to resolve. Based on my experience with these patients, I would guess your disturbance is most likely COVID-19 related, and is likely to go away in time.

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.

Read more here:
Arthritis treatment needed for pain in hands - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

This entry was posted on January 19, 2021 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |