Often, patients complain of pain in the joints of their fingers. All pathologies have specific symptoms, so a specialist will quickly make a diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious disease accompanied by an inflammatory process. It causes pain in the joints and their deformation. The pathology usually occurs in people over 30 years old. Women suffer 3 times more than men.
Rheumatoid arthritis appears suddenly and is associated with impaired immune system function. In this disease, the immune cells mistake joint cells for viruses or bacteria and try to eliminate them. The destruction process can last for many years.
The following symptoms of the disease are distinguished:
- severe joint pain, worse at night or in the morning;
- stiffness in joints after sleep;
- high body temperature;
- sleep disorder;
- rapid fatigue;
- decreased appetite;
- sudden weight loss;
- the formation of nodules in the elbow area.
Rheumatoid arthritis develops due to the following factors:
- previous sore throat or flu;
- joint injuries;
- infectious pathology;
- long-term stress and depression;
- genetic predisposition.
A feature of rheumatoid arthritis that differs from arthrosis is the reduction of pain during exercise. If the joints of the fingers of the right hand are painful and swollen, then the same symptoms appear on the left hand. Over time, the disease can affect other joints.
Joint deformation and destruction can be avoided if you start therapy at an early stage.
Nuance! Two years of breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women by 2 times.
Treatment
Modern methods of treating rheumatoid arthritis include:
- aurotherapy;
- cytostatics;
- taking antimalarial drugs;
- sulfonamides;
- D-penicillamine.
On average, even an experienced rheumatologist takes about 6 months to choose the right treatment method, as he examines the patient's characteristics and drug tolerance.
What is aurotherapy?
Aurotherapy involves taking medicines containing gold salts.
Doctors recommend using gold preparations in the initial stage of the disease. With their help, it is possible to achieve a positive result in the treatment of acute, rapidly developing pathology with acute pain and early degenerative changes in the joints. Gold-based drugs are prescribed to patients when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs do not relieve the condition.
The main advantage of aurotherapy is that it can be used for the presence of accompanying inflammatory pathologies and malignant tumors. Also, during the study, scientists discovered that gold salts actively fight fungi and some bacteria, including Helicobacter pylori.
The course of treatment with gold preparations is 2-3 months. If the patient's condition has not improved during this period, this technique is canceled.
Note!Many people experience relapses of rheumatoid arthritis some time after gold treatment. A rheumatologist can prescribe aurotherapy again. Sometimes such treatment can last for years if it does not cause negative consequences for other organs.
Is cytostatic therapy effective?
It is customary to use cytostatics to relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Since the disease is of autoimmune origin, it is not surprising that doctors prescribe immunosuppressants. Their main advantage is high efficiency at a relatively low dose. Rheumatoid arthritis patients are prescribed 5 or even 20 times less cytostatics than cancer patients. Medicines have proven themselves in the fight against severe forms of the disease with a high degree of progress.
Another advantage of treatment with immunosuppressants is the minimal number of side effects. Very rarely, patients complain of the following symptoms:
- skin itching;
- intestinal dysfunction;
- trembling;
- difficulty urinating.
Side effects disappear quickly if the drug is stopped or the doctor adjusts the dose. The course of treatment is 1 month.
Treatment of finger joints with antimalarial drugs
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with antimalarial drugs is extremely rare. The main advantage of this treatment is good drug tolerance. A significant disadvantage of this treatment is that the antimalarial drugs act slowly. Their effect is noticeable after 6-12 months, but the therapeutic effect is quite weak.
Will sulfonamides help with rheumatoid arthritis?
Medicines from the sulfonamide group are successfully used to treat finger pain. Their advantages include:
- Good tolerance.
- Low rate of complications, if any.
- Affordable price.
The disadvantage of these drugs is their slow action. The positive effect is noticeable only 3 months after the start of the course of therapy.
How to treat the disease with D-penicillamine?
If the patient is suitable for treatment with gold preparations or cytostatic use, then there is no need to prescribe D-penicillamine. In terms of effectiveness, it is much lower than the listed methods of treatment, but it greatly exceeds them in the number of side effects, the frequency of their occurrence and the degree of complications. Therefore, treatment with D-penicillamine is used in patients who do not tolerate gold salts and cytostatics well.
D-penicillamine is effectively used in patients with complications of the heart, respiratory system or kidneys. It should be taken from 3 to 5 years, then a break of several years will be required, after which the course must be repeated.
Gout - symptoms and treatment
One of the dangerous diseases of joints and tissues is gout. It occurs due to metabolic disorders in the body. Gout is characterized by an increase in the amount of uric acid in the lymph.
Symptoms of the disease include:
- inflammation of the thumb joint;
- severe pressure pain in the morning or at night;
- increased body temperature;
- redness of the skin;
- growths on the legs or arms.
If treatment is not started on time, the patient may develop gouty arthritis. Possible complications include urolithiasis and kidney failure, which can lead to death.
For the treatment of gout, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used for 1-2 weeks.
Anti-gout drugs are prescribed to quickly reduce the concentration of uric acid in the body.
To relieve the acute symptoms of gout, experts prescribe a drug based on alkaloid corms of the magnificent lily family. Glucocorticoids are used to relieve swelling and pain. These drugs quickly eliminate inflammation, but have a negative effect on the immune system.
Psoriatic arthritis
About 15% of patients diagnosed with psoriasis have problems with finger joints. Symptoms of this disease:
- joint deformation;
- night pain syndrome;
- numbness of limbs;
- dark red discoloration of the skin at the site of the disease;
- swelling of fingers;
- limited mobility.
Most patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis have damage to the nail plates. First, small holes are formed on their surface, then they change color due to microcirculation disturbance.
Psoriatic arthritis is often diagnosed in pregnant women. This is due to the hormonal origin of the disease and hormonal changes in the woman's body during pregnancy. Increased symptoms of arthritis in pregnant women are often associated with weight gain.
The following causes of psoriatic arthritis are identified:
- injuries;
- severe stress and emotional stress;
- excessive physical activity;
- infectious diseases;
- hereditary predisposition.
The following drug groups are used for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis:
- Non-steroidal drugs. Designed to relieve inflammation and reduce pain.
- Glucocorticosteroids: injected into the joint cavity.
- Cytostatic from the group of folic acid antagonists: it is the most popular systemic drug.
- Immunosuppressant with a selective effect on T-lymphocytes: used to slow down changes in bone and cartilage tissue.
For psoriatic arthritis, it is recommended to avoid alcoholic beverages, reduce the consumption of citrus fruits and smoked foods, and follow a low-calorie diet.
Osteoarthritis - how to treat it and what are the consequences of the disease?
Elderly people often complain of swollen finger joints. This can be one of the symptoms of osteoarthritis. The disease can appear for the following reasons:
- hormonal imbalance;
- genetic predisposition;
- occupational stress and injuries;
- age-related metabolic disorder.
Joint pain can help identify the disease. An accurate diagnosis is made by a specialist after X-ray examination and MRI.
Gymnastics will help alleviate the patient's condition. The set of exercises is selected by the doctor, paying attention to the individual characteristics of the patient with osteoarthritis. Therapy also includes following a diet to get rid of excess weight, if any. You can not do without thermal procedures. Paraffin baths are recommended, to which mineral oil should be added.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from the group of propionic acid derivatives and acetylsalicylic acid are prescribed to relieve pain and reduce swelling. Among the analgesics, a drug from the anilide group is often used. Massage sessions will help warm up your muscles and improve blood circulation.
If the treatment is not started on time, the person will not be able to cope with his daily activities in the future. In such cases, joint replacement surgery cannot be avoided.
What is rhizarthrosis?
If the patient has pain in the thumb, this may indicate that he has rhizarthrosis. The reasons for this phenomenon may be:
- joint overload;
- past infectious disease;
- injuries;
- intoxication of the body.
Treatment of rhizarthrosis in stages 1-2 includes taking chondroprotectors. They activate the process of formation of new cartilage cells, which helps to eliminate the disease.
It is quite popular to use manual therapy to treat rhizarthrosis. The therapist can realign the altered joint, as a result of which the pain syndrome will disappear. In addition, you can massage your thumb to increase the tone of the cartilage tissue and improve the mobility of the joints.
If the patient is diagnosed with the 3rd stage of rhizarthrosis, intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid are prescribed. Using glucocorticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is also effective. They increase blood flow in the affected joint, relieve pain and reduce swelling.
Traditional medicine for pain in the fingers
You can cope with pain not only with the help of drugs, but also by resorting to folk methods. For acute pain, using a gauze bandage soaked in apple cider vinegar is effective. Compresses using cooked onions or boiled potatoes are perfect to relieve swelling. It is useful to warm the painful joint with hot sea salt and rub it with fir oil.
Tinctures
One of the common methods of treatment are tinctures. You can use vodka for its preparation. You need to take 50 ml of vodka and 30 ml of valerian tincture, mix both components and add a few red pepper flakes. After 3 hours, moisten a cotton swab in the resulting mixture and apply it to the phalanx. A positive effect is noticeable after a month of such treatment.
Another effective remedy is a tincture based on the chestnut inflorescence. It is enough to collect raw materials and mix them with vodka. Leave for 14-20 days. Rub the product when your fingers feel numb and painful. It is allowed to use lilac instead of chestnut inflorescences.
Ointments
If your joints hurt when you squeeze your fingers, you should use mustard and honey ointment. To prepare it, combine 5 g of mustard and 15 g of honey. Next, add 30 ml of olive oil, steam the mixture in a water bath to a thick consistency, cool and use daily to treat the affected joints.
Ointment based on bay leaf and juniper needles is recommended for pain in the joint of the index finger of the right hand. Both components should be mixed in equal proportions, then add 50 g of butter. You can use the ointment during regular joint massage.