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Psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune diseasethat can lead toswelling, pain, and stiffness in the joints. This painful condition can affect any joint in the body, but most often it impacts the fingers and toes, as well as the ankles, knees, wrists, and lower back or spine. Because many symptoms of psoriatic arthritis aren't so easy to spot (joint pain, fatigue), it is often referred to as an "invisible" disease. However, other psoriatic arthritissymptoms are more identifiable.

RELATED: 9 Things People With Psoriatic Arthritis Want You to Know

The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis can differ greatly from person to person. The number of joints affected by the diseasecan vary, and at times a patient may only exhibit symptoms on one or two of their joints, while at other times the disease can impact several joints at once.Oftenalthough not alwayspsoriatic arthritis is asymmetrical, meaning a joint on one side of the body isaffected (your knee, for example), while the mirror-image joint feels normal.

Joints that are close to each other on the body can also be impactedvery differently. "You can have severely involved joints [with] nearby joints showing almost complete preservation," says Ted Mikuls, MD, professor of internal medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. "It can be very spotty."

Psoriatic arthritis symptoms inthe fingers can be very distinctive. One possible symptom is the last knuckles of the finger (near the nails) swelling and becoming inflamed, while other joints in the finger remain unaffected.Other telltale signs of psoriatic arthritis can be seen on the nails themselves: pitting, grooving, or other textural changes on the nail bed; changes in color; or thickening of the nails. Sometimes the nails can separate entirely on the nail bed. Some of these changes may cause patients to think that they have a fungal infection.

Another possible symptom of psoriatic arthritis is dactylitis, when the entire finger or toe swells up to look like a sausage."That is really characteristic for psoriatic arthritis," says Dr.Mikuls.

Psoriatic arthritis can also result in deformities in the joints. In fact, deformities may happen even before you experience some of the other hallmark symptoms of psoriatic arthritis like joint pain and stiffness. In the feet, deformities can occur in the form of clawed toes (they bend up or down) or ankles that roll inward. Some people also develop calluses or corns on the bottoms of their feet.

Psoriatic arthritis can also affect parts of your body in addition to thejoints. Redness, irritation, and pain in the eyes, including conjunctivitis, can also be a signof psoriatic arthritis, as can fatigue.

See the article here:
These Psoriatic Arthritis Pictures Show What the Autoimmune Disease Is Really Like - Health.com

This entry was posted on April 6, 2017 at 12:46 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. |