and treatment
The Saudi Rheumatology Society recently held awareness and educational events on the occasion of the International Day of Arthritis, and those activities that were held at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel and attended by a large number of people, included the participation of a group of senior consultants in rheumatology, echography and diagnostic who gave awareness and educational lectures and provided free medical consultations to the public In order to raise awareness of these common diseases, a team of physiotherapists also participated in the awareness day to educate patients about proper postures, how to live with the disease and safe exercises on the joints.
Fahda Al-Aqili, a consultant of rheumatic diseases at the Military Hospital in Riyadh, explained that arthritis is not a single disease, but rather a group of diseases that cause inflammation in the joints, the most common of these diseases is joint roughness resulting from aging or hereditary reasons that affect the nature of joint formation and make it vulnerable to roughness and inflammation. Even at a young age, as most causes of arthritis fall under what is known as autoimmune diseases, which means that there are components within the human body that fight body tissues, especially joints, and damage them, and the cause of this unusual behavior of the body''s immune system is often due to genetic factors or it may happen. As a result of exposure to a viral or microbial infection or exposure to high psychological pressures that cause a defect in the immune system.
While Dr. Maysoon Al-Balawi, head of the rheumatic diseases department at the Military Hospital in Riyadh, spoke about another serious disease related to arthritis, which is SLE, stressing that there are no accurate statistics on the rates of this disease in the Arab region, but in general the global rates of SLE To 30 to 50 cases per hundred thousand people, and it has been observed that the infection rates are much higher among women than men, at a ratio of 1: 9, as there is a man suffering from this disease for every 9 women who are infected with it, although the reason for this is unknown. Conclusively, it is believed that this is due to hormonal reasons for women and makes them have more rates of this disease than men. Dr. Maysoon Al-Balawi adds that SLE is a disease that may affect different body parts and the severity of infection varies in its severity from one case to another. The patient suffers from pain and inflammation in the joints in addition to a rash or sensitivity to sunlight, but in severe and acute cases, the disease affects internal organs of the body such as the kidneys, heart, lungs, or even the nervous system. A clarified that despite the tremendous scientific progress in the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, until now there is no definitive cure for SLE, but there are many treatments that alleviate the severity and pain of the disease and help treat the internal organs that may be affected by this disease.
When asked whether a person suffering from joint pain should go to the general practitioner or orthopedist, Dr. Fahda Al-Aqili said that according to the correct health system, the patient must first go to the family doctor who can assess the case and guide the patient and then refer him to the appropriate specialty for his case. , Joint pain does not necessarily mean the presence of inflammation, there are several causes of joint pain that may be the result of a sprain, injury, tear, stress or inflammation.
Regarding the treatment of arthritis, Dr. Seham Al-Rashidi, a consultant rheumatologist at the Military Hospital in Riyadh, confirmed that modern biological or biological treatments have made a tremendous revolution in the concepts of treating rheumatic arthritis as they greatly help in preventing joint deformation and reducing side effects and complications. There are drugs from the class of single-cloning antimicrobials that work on chemicals in the body and suppress inflammation, and these drugs are only taken under the supervision of a specialist.
On the advice that an arthritis patient is recommended to follow, Dr. Mansour Al-Azmi, Associate Consultant Rheumatology at Military Hospital, and Dr. Fahda Al-Aqili agreed on the need for the patient to adhere to the instructions of the treating doctor, especially with regard to taking the treatments and medications prescribed according to medical instructions and not tolerating them in accordance with the specified times and periods. Even if the patient begins to feel an improvement in his condition, he should not stop the treatment until the end of the period specified by the doctor because the disease may return even after the condition improves, and the patient is also advised to practice sports or physiotherapy exercises according to medical directions and in the correct position of the body while working on strengthening muscles to reduce the burden on Affected joints, and the patient is advised to commit to reviewing the doctor at the appointments specified for him, with knowledge of all medicines and doses that he is taking to ensure that there is no conflict with other medicines that the patient takes to treat other diseases, and to take the necessary precautions when exposed to any emergency and to see the treating doctor immediately, as it is necessary Follow a healthy diet, avoid gaining weight, and take into account complete rest when the disease is active.
Finally, all the speakers appealed to the doctors to work on clarifying to their patients the nature of the disease and familiarizing them with it well, as well as familiarizing them with treatment methods and everything related to the drugs prescribed to them and how to take them at the times and for the specified periods and precautions that must be taken into account before taking these drugs, as well as what must be done when the patient is exposed during treatment to any symptom Another healthy thing to take.
