Arthritis Medications

In most cases arthritis can be very effectively managed, although it may take a little while to find the best treatment and arthritis medications for your particular arthritis.

Lifestyle is especially important in fighting arthritis and such things as controlling stress, organizing your day-to-day activities, eating the right diet and taking some form of exercise are all important components of any effective arthritis treatment plan. In many cases hands-on healing, homeopathy, herbs and other forms of alternative medicine also prove effective in combating the pain of arthritis.

We should not however forget that conventional medicine also has a very important, if not central, role to play and today there are many different arthritis medications which can provide relief and, in particular, immediate relief for such things as hot and swollen joints.

Arthritis Medications Include:

• 

  Paracetamol

  Analgesics. The first line of defense will generally be simple analgesics which fight pain but which do nothing to attack the inflammation which is the cause of the pain. Simple analgesics, such as paracetamol, are designed for mild cases of inflammation which will often subside by themselves with rest and ‘first aid’ treatment such as applying a cold compress to the inflamed joint.
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The next step after trying a simple analgesic is a non-steroidal anti-imflammatory drug which is designed to reduce the pain producing inflammation by interfering with the action of an enzyme known as Cyclo-Oxygenase. Mild NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, can be purchased as otc arthritis medication at your local drug store but stronger NSAIDs, such as diclofenac sidium, flurbiprofen and naproxen, will need to be obtained through your doctor.
• 

  Ibuprofen

  Corticosteroids. A corticosteroid is manufactured drug which is designed to mimic a naturally occurring hormone produced within the human body to reduce inflammation. These drugs can be extremely effective at reducing inflammation but, unfortunately, they are also powerful drugs which bring with them a number of unwanted side-effects. These include such things as raised blood pressure, stomach ulcers, thinning of both the skin and bones and a hightened susceptibility to infection. For this reason these drugs must be used with care and under medical supervision.
• Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs are used to treat inflammatory forms of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, which have not responded to other forms of drug treatment. DMARDs alter the action of the body’s immune system and include a range of drugs which modify some of the rheumatic disease processes within the body.
• Biologic response modifiers (BRMs). Biologic response modifiers are the latest in a line of drugs being developed to fight particularly difficult cases of inflammation and do so by inhibiting the inflammatory action of cytokines within the body’s immune system.

Such things as lifestyle changes, alternative medicine and conventional arthritis medications all play an important part in fighting the pain of arthritis and managing the disease. In some cases however the effect of these, either individually or in combination, is simply not enough and so yet another alternative is that of surgery. There are various different forms of arthritis surgery available and, while this type of surgery is never undertaken without careful thought, many people find that it literally gives them a new lease of life.