Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that has no cure. This inflammatory disease leads to swollen, stiff, and painful joints. It will also reduce movements affecting the person mentally and physically. As such, the only way to cope with the situation is by educating people with rheumatoid arthritis about the disease. This education will help them to think positively and to cope with the chronic disease. Exercise, proper rest, and a balanced diet will ensure flexibility of joints and keep inflammation under control.

Rheumatoid arthritis has a symmetrical pattern. That is, two joints--for instance, the elbow of both the hands--develop pain, swell, and stiffen together. There is no specific cause for its occurrence or a specific cure. But once diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a person is treated with medicines.

Medication is administered for relieving pain and also to reduce the inflammation of the joints. It is recommended based on the severity of the disease. There are other types of drugs that also try to reduce the intensity of the disease. While analgesics such as paracetamol are taken as painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help to reduce inflammation and relieve pain in the joints. The analgesics always come in combination with some of the recommended drugs, as do the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. There are also disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that reduce or control the intensity of the disease, reducing pain and stiffness of the joints. These are found to be very effective in combating the illness. For instance, injecting gold intramuscularly is one such disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug. All of these medications, whether controlling pain or intensity, have side effects. These may include constipation, skin irritation, bleeding in the stomach, kidney problems, and so on. As such, one must take the medicines as instructed by a medical practitioner.

The most recent set of medications, however, are biological therapies or biologic-response modifiers. These are considered more "body-friendly" drugs. Biologic-response modifiers stop or block the components, especially the proteins, which trigger inflammation normally as a defense mechanism. For instance the protein called interlukin 1 (IL-1) is blocked by anakinra drug. As a result, the deformity caused by damaged and destroyed bones and cartilages is reduced along with the inflammation. Often, the doctors recommend a combination of drugs. But the present sets of drugs are definitely more effective in controlling rheumatoid arthritis.