What Causes Arthritis – Treatments will be discussed here. It is common amongst the aged or those who have advanced in age.
How to prevent Arthritis
Read Also: Diabetes in Nigeria: Types, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
Arthritis is a painful and degenerative disease. It is often discernible by an infection in the joints that leads to rigorousness and pain in the joints.
Although arthritis is common, not many people understand its cause, effect, and mode of infection. Arthritis is not like every other illness which comes on its own with its own symptoms ‘arthritis’ is an indirect way of referring to joint pain or disease.
There exist over 120 different types of arthritis in the world. The most common type of arthritis is called Osteoarthritis’, ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis’ and ‘Psoriatic Arthritis’, others include but are not limited to; back pain, tendinitis, gout, adult-onset still’s disease, lupus, pediatric SLE, reactive arthritis, hemochromatosis, rheumatic fever, etc. and they get worse with age and mostly caused by tears and wears over the years.
Read Also: Asthma in Nigeria: Causes and Natural Cure
Arthritis: Causes
An inherited defect in joint cartilage; arthritis could be hereditary, if a person’s parent suffered from arthritis, there is a high chance of such a person also suffering from the disease.
Someone who is also overweight stands a very high chance to develop arthritis over time because of the excess fats in the body which interferes with the swift movement of the bones.
As earlier said, as a person advances in age, and gets close to retirement age, the person is more likely to be a patient of arthritis because of the weakness of some or all parts of the person’s body.
Read Also: Chickenpox in Nigeria: Prevention and Treatments
Should a person have an accident and it affects the joint, pains could develop from there and grow worse. Injury in the joint is also a common cause of arthritis in Nigeria. Dislocation or improper fitting of the joint can also cause arthritis.
Athletes are also top on the list because most sports support arthritis, for example, athletes who participate in sports that involve running, jumping and other movements that require the movement of the joint frequently and don’t get adequate nutrition are more prone to arthritis.
Arthritis: Signs and Symptoms
Victims would be unable to walk to a far distance, with serious pains or stiffness in the joint which could lead to Swelling, undue tiredness, fever, weight loss, joint stiffness especially when one is in a state of rest, swollen fingers and toes, etc.
When a person is old or advanced in age, the person may not be completely treated with arthritis but there abounds a lot of things the person can do in order to reduce arthritis.
Read Also: How to Stop Bedwetting in Nigeria
Arthritis: Treatments
1. Rest
Having a lot of rest and exercise can drastically reduce the pain in the body. But more importantly, it is advisable that a person who has arthritis should abstain from things that cause pain to the surface.
Some arthritis causes fever in the body which is why it is recommended that a person suffering from it should take short naps during the day.
2. Hot water
When a person has problems in the joint, such a person should soak a towel in hot water and apply it to the region of the pain and repeat this as many times as possible.
Read Also: Chickenpox in Nigeria: Prevention and Treatments
3. Aspirin
Sometimes, it is advisable that a person takes drugs that will relieve him or she of the pain one of the many drugs advisable by the world health organization is Aspirin but the dosage should strictly be as recommended by the physician.
Generally, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics i.e. Panadol, paracetamol, etc. help to drastically reduce pain.
These drugs however if used in the wrong dosage can cause side effects thereby bringing up another issue in the body.
