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Typical relationship Psoriasis Patients often suffer from rheumatism
Psoriatic arthritis can lead to severe damage to the joints
Psoriasis can appear harmless, so that sufferers hardly experience any impairment. Likewise, it is possible that the inflammatory disease brings with it a number of other complaints, thereby severely limiting the lives of patients. One example is the so-called "psoriatic arthritis", in which psoriasis also affects the joints. Experts from the Federal Association of German Rheumatologists explain why the disease can be detected.
Typical are severe scaly redness and itching
Psoriasis is a common, inflammatory skin disease that is almost always chronic. Characteristic are sharply defined, reddish skin with silver-white scales, which are often associated with severe itching. Often more complaints are added. For example, almost every fifth patient with psoriasis affects the joints. The Professional Association of German Rheumatologists (BDRh) refers to this on the occasion of the World Psoriasis Day on October 29 in a communication.
About one in five psoriasis suffer from the rheumatic form of psoriasis. (Image: Farina3000 / fotolia.com) Back complaints can be a warning sign
The psoriatic arthritis could therefore also occur without the typical changes in the skin or nails and is sometimes discovered so late that there are already permanent damage to the joints. "It is therefore important to take warning signs of psoriatic arthritis first, then this disease is very easy to treat," said the first chairman of the BDRh and practicing rheumatologist in Bochum, Dr. med. med. Ludwig Kalthoff, according to the message.
According to the expert, these include discomfort of the tendons and joints as well as back pain. In particular, inflammation of the Achilles tendon and nail infestation are warning signs, "also sausage toe or sausage finger pointing to a rheumatic involvement of the tissue," explains Dr. med. Kalthoff.
Without treatment threatened by the report by the inflammatory rheumatism a long-term destruction of the joints. If the disease is detected early, however, a targeted therapy with appropriate drugs can help. (No)