Often, patients complain that their finger joints hurt. All pathologies have pronounced specific symptoms, so a specialist will quickly make a diagnosis and prescribe the correct 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 of age. Women suffer from this 3 times more than men.
Rheumatoid arthritis appears suddenly and is associated with impaired functioning of the immune system. In this disease, immune cells mistake joint cells for viruses or bacteria and try to eliminate them. The destruction process can last many years.
The following symptoms of the disease are distinguished:
- severe joint pain, worse at night or in the morning;
- joint stiffness after sleeping;
- high body temperature;
- sleep disorders;
- rapid fatigue;
- decreased appetite;
- sudden weight loss;
- formation of nodules in the elbow region.
Rheumatoid arthritis develops due to the following factors:
- sore throat or previous flu;
- joint injuries;
- infectious pathology;
- long-term stress and depression;
- genetic predisposition.
A distinctive feature of rheumatoid arthritis caused by osteoarthritis is decreased pain during exercise. If the finger joints on the right hand hurt and swell, the same symptoms will appear on the left hand. Over time, the disease can affect other joints.
If you start therapy early, you can avoid joint deformation and destruction.
Nuance!Breastfeeding for two years reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women by 2 times.
Treatment
Modern methods of treating rheumatoid arthritis include the following:
- aurotherapy;
- cytostatics;
- taking antimalarial medications;
- sulfonamides;
- D-penicillamine.
On average, even an experienced rheumatologist takes about 6 months to select the correct treatment method, as he examines the patient's characteristics and his tolerability to medications.
What is aurotherapy?
Aurotherapy involves taking medications that contain gold salts.
Doctors recommend using gold preparations at the initial stage of the disease. With their help, it is possible to achieve a positive effect in the treatment of rapidly developing acute pathologies, with severe pain and early degenerative changes in the joints. Gold-based medicines are prescribed to patients in cases where non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have not alleviated their condition.
The main advantage of aurotherapy is that it can be used for concomitant inflammatory pathologies and the presence of malignant tumors. In addition, during research, 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 during this period the patient's condition does not improve, this technique will be canceled.
Observation!Many people experience relapses of rheumatoid arthritis some time after gold treatment. The rheumatologist may prescribe aurotherapy again. Sometimes this treatment can last for years if it does not lead to negative consequences for other organs.
Is cytostatic therapy effective?
To eliminate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, cytostatics are often used.
As the disease is autoimmune in origin, it is not surprising that doctors prescribe immunosuppressants. Its main advantage is high efficiency at relatively low doses. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis receive 5 or even 20 times less dosage of cytostatics than patients with cancer. The medications have proven effective in combating severe forms of the disease with a high degree of progression.
Another advantage of treatment with immunosuppressants is the minimum number of side effects. Very rarely, patients complain of the following symptoms:
- rash;
- intestinal dysfunction;
- chills;
- difficulty urinating.
If the medication is discontinued or the doctor adjusts the dosage, the side effects disappear quickly. The course of treatment is 1 month.
Treatment of finger joints with antimalarial drugs
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with antimalarial medications is extremely rare. The main advantage of this treatment is the good tolerability of the medications. A significant disadvantage of this treatment is that antimalarial medications act slowly. Its effect is noticeable after 6 to 12 months, but the therapeutic effect is rather weak.
Will sulfonamides help treat rheumatoid arthritis?
Drugs from the sulfonamide group are successfully used to treat pain in the fingers. Its advantages include:
- Good tolerance.
- Low degree of complications, if any.
- Affordable price.
The disadvantage of these drugs is their slow action. The positive effect is noticeable only 3 months after starting treatment.
How to treat the disease with D-penicillamine?
If the patient is suitable for treatment with gold preparations or the use of cytostatics, there is no need to prescribe D-penicillamine. It is much inferior to the listed treatment methods in terms of effectiveness, but significantly 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 cases where patients do not tolerate gold salts and cytostatics well.
D-penicillamine is effectively used in patients who have complications in the heart, respiratory system or kidneys. It must be taken for 3 to 5 years, then a break of several years will be required, after which the course will have to be repeated.
Gout - symptoms and treatment
One of the dangerous diseases of joints and tissues is gout. It occurs due to a metabolic disorder 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 big toe joint;
- intense, pressing pain in the morning or evening;
- increased body temperature;
- skin redness;
- growths on the legs or arms.
If treatment is not started immediately, the patient may develop gouty arthritis. Possible complications also include urolithiasis and kidney failure, which can lead to death.
To treat gout, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used for 1 to 2 weeks.
To quickly reduce the concentration of uric acid in the body, anti-gout medications are prescribed.
To eliminate the acute symptoms of gout, experts prescribe a medicine based on an alkaloid from the shoots of the magnificent lily family. Glucocorticoids are used to relieve swelling and pain. These medications quickly relieve inflammation, but have a negative effect on the immune system.
Psoriatic arthritis
About 15% of patients diagnosed with psoriasis have problems with their finger joints. The signs of this disease are:
- joint deformation;
- pain syndrome at night;
- numbness of limbs;
- discoloration of the skin in a burgundy color at the site of the development of the disease;
- swelling of the fingers;
- Limited mobility.
Most patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis experience damage to the nail plates. First, small depressions form on its surface, then their color changes due to disruption of microcirculation.
Often, pregnant women are diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. This is due to the fact that the disease is also of hormonal origin, and women experience hormonal changes in their body during pregnancy. Increased signs 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 groups of medications are used to treat psoriatic arthritis:
- Nonsteroidal medications. Designed to eliminate 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 that acts selectively on T lymphocytes: used to delay changes that occur in bone and cartilage tissue.
In psoriatic arthritis, it is recommended to give up 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 that their finger joints are swollen. This could be one of the signs of osteoarthritis. The disease may 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 an X-ray and MRI examination.
Gymnastics will help alleviate the patient's condition. The set of exercises is selected by the doctor, focusing on the individual characteristics of the patient with osteoarthritis. Therapy also includes following a diet to lose excess weight, if any. You cannot do without thermal procedures. Paraffin baths are recommended, to which mineral oil must be added.
To eliminate pain and relieve swelling, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from the group of propionic acid and acetylsalicylic acid derivatives are prescribed. Among analgesics, a drug from the anilide group is often used. Massage sessions help to warm up the muscles and improve blood circulation.
If treatment is not started in a timely manner, the person will not be able to carry out daily activities in the future. In such cases, joint replacement surgery cannot be avoided.
What is rhizarthrosis?
If a patient experiences pain in their thumb, it may indicate that they have 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 the use of chondroprotectors. They activate the process of the appearance of new cartilage cells, which helps to eliminate the disease.
The use of manual therapy to treat rhizarthrosis is quite popular. The therapist can realign the altered joint, as a result of which the pain syndrome will disappear. Additionally, you can massage your thumb to increase the tone of the cartilaginous tissue and improve joint mobility.
If the patient is diagnosed with stage 3 of rhizarthrosis, intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid are prescribed. The use of glucocorticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is also effective. They increase blood flow in the affected joint, eliminate pain and relieve swelling.
Traditional medicine for finger pain
You can cope with pain not only with the help of medications, but also by resorting to folk remedies. For acute pain, it is effective to use a gauze bandage soaked in apple cider vinegar. To relieve swelling, compresses with roasted onions or boiled potatoes are perfect. It is useful to warm the sore joint with warm sea salt and rub it with fir oil.
Dyes
A common treatment method is dyes. You can use vodka to prepare it. You should take 50 ml of vodka and 30 ml of valerian tincture, mix the two components and add a few red pepper pods. After 3 hours, moisten a cotton swab in the resulting mixture and apply it to the phalanx. The positive effect is noticeable after one month of treatment.
Another effective remedy is a tincture based on chestnut inflorescences. Just collect the raw material and mix it with vodka. Leave for 14 to 20 days. Rub the product when your fingers feel numb and you feel pain. Instead of brown inflorescences, it is allowed to use lilac ones.
Ointments
If your joints hurt when squeezing your fingers, you should use a mustard and honey ointment. To prepare it, mix 5 g of mustard and 15 g of honey. Next, add 30 ml of olive oil, evaporate the mixture in a water bath until it reaches a thick consistency, let it cool and use it daily to treat affected joints.
For pain in the joint of the index finger on the right hand, an ointment based on bay leaves and juniper needles is recommended. Both components must be mixed in equal proportions and then add 50 g of butter. You can use the ointment during regular joint massages.