Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) may affect your body from both the outside and inside. Treatment for psoriatic arthritis focuses on reducing the inflammation that is adversely impacting your joints. Protecting your joints helps to reduce the pain related to PSA. It is likely for your doctor to consider multiple options to treat psoriatic arthritis. In most cases, they would prefer medications. However, if they don’t work, surgery can be an option. There fore, the current article will focus on the different treatment options for psoriatic arthritis, including:
- NSAIDs
- DMARDs
- Immunosuppressants
- Biologics
- Enzyme inhibitor
- Steroids
- Surgery
- Light Therapy
NSAIDs
For mild psoriatic arthritis, doctors will prefer to recommend a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). This drug inhibits the body’s chemicals that lead to inflammation. Additionally, you may not require a prescription to buy NSAIDs in most cases. So, commonly used NSAIDs include naproxen, ibuprofen, and aspirin. However, NSAIDs may have serious side effects on regular use, including strokes, ulcers, and stomachaches. To prevent these conditions, your doctor will recommend using misoprostol that protects your stomach’s lining.
DMARDs
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) is suggested for severe arthritis that isn’t being controlled through NSAIDs. These drugs can help reduce tissue damage, swelling, pain, and joint aches. However, these drugs may take longer to show effective results. Also, some common DMARDs may include methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and leflunomide.
Immunosuppressants
Remember, psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, which means curbing your body’s immune activity can provide an effective way to treat its effects. One way to treat psoriatic arthritis is to use immunosuppressants that reduce the immune reaction of your body. The most commonly used immunosuppressants are Azathioprine and Cyclosporine.
Biologics
Treatment for psoriatic arthritis may include the use of biologics that work as newer versions of DMARD. These medications focus on the underlying cause of the inflammation; if so, different types of biologics are available in the market to treat different types of psoriatic arthritis. You may use Infliximab, Golimumab, or Etanercept based on your condition.
However, biologics are not usually taken orally. Instead, one can take them through injections under the skin. It is also important to take methotrexate in severe cases. However, the main problem related to biologics is that they are very expensive and can cause dizziness. Additionally, the lowered immune performance may cause tuberculosis and hepatitis B.
Enzyme Inhibitor
Apremilast is currently sued to treat psoriatic arthritis. The pill works by inhibiting the production of PDE-4 protein that causes inflammation. Also, using the enzyme may result in weight loss. Additionally, it may cause nausea, diarrhea in certain cases.
Steroids
Steroids may be required to reduce inflammation if the patient has severe pain and their body is not positively reacting to any other drug. In most cases, Prednisone is used as the effective option for steroid-based treatment for psoriatic arthritis. You can take the steroid orally or through injections. It may cause diabetes, weight gain, and hypertension.
Surgery
In extreme cases, you may require surgery to reduce pain and allow the joint to work properly. The surgery is formally called synovectomy and reduces the joint that has been affected. Also, in some cases, you may need arthroplasty to remove the affected joint. Joint fusion can be another option to reduce pain.
Light therapy
Some doctors prefer light therapy. However, it has a serious risk of causing skin cancer if the treatment is not done carefully. To treat psoriatic arthritis, doctors may use an excimer laser or PUVA. However, the therapy may require certain lifestyle chances to be fully effective as well.
Conclusion
To conclude, knowing the treatment options for psoriatic arthritis is important for patients to make an informed decision. We hope that the article helped you figure out the most common way to treat psoriatic arthritis.
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