Does internal dampness cause swelling?

The joints of many people are not as healthy as we think. As the joint function declines, people's mobility is restricted, and various joint diseases will gradually appear. Rheumatoid arthritis is a relatively common one, which can cause joint swelling and numbness, and even cause inflammation and backlog in the joints, leading to redness, swelling and pain in the joints. Severe cases can cause symptoms of swollen joints.

symptom

① Morning stiffness: Joint stiffness is more obvious in the morning and is relieved after activity, which is called morning stiffness. Usually after getting up, the affected joints are stiff and painful, and movement is limited. As time goes by, movement increases and the stiffness eases. Stiffness first occurs in the finger joints, and you cannot make a fist in the morning. If the disease progresses, you may feel stiffness all over your body. The degree of joint stiffness can be used as an indicator to evaluate the changes in the disease and activity. The longer it takes to get up in the morning, the more serious the condition.

② Pain: The fingers, wrists, toes, and ankle joints are swollen and painful first, either singly or multiple times, one after another, gradually affecting the elbows, shoulders, knees, iliac joints, and temporomandibular joints, and the disease is symmetrical. The pain is often aggravated by recurrence of the disease or by weather changes or cold stimulation.

③ Swelling: There is inflammatory effusion in the affected joint cavity, which manifests as diffuse swelling or redness and swelling in the joints, mainly in the four small joints. The finger joints are mostly fusiform and swollen. When the condition is relieved, the joint swelling may disappear.

④ Movement disorders: Movement disorders are often caused by inflammatory pain and soft tissue swelling. As the disease progresses, muscles atrophy, fibrous tissue proliferates within bone joints, and the tissues around the joints become tough, making it impossible for the joints to resume normal functional activities. When the disease develops to the late stage, the joints become ankylosed or subluxated, the metacarpophalangeal lateral deviation occurs, and the finger joints become goose-neck, telescope-shaped, bouquet-shaped or hook-shaped deformities.

Extra-articular manifestations

① Rheumatoid subcutaneous nodules: About 20% of patients with this disease have subcutaneous nodules. It is more common in the highly active stage of rheumatoid arthritis.

② Rheumatoid vasculitis: can affect blood vessels, skin, muscles, heart, nerves and other tissues, and is the basis of extra-articular damage.

③ Cardiopulmonary damage: Rheumatoid arthritis can affect the pericardium, myocardium and endocardium, among which pericarditis is more common.

④Nervous system manifestations: Mild cases include paresthesia or dullness, and decreased sense of touch. Severe cases may lead to activity disorders.

⑤Other manifestations: eye damage, manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome, splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, anemia, leukopenia, as well as chronic gastritis and ulcerative colitis.

Emotional Care

Due to the long course of rheumatic disease and severe relapses, the patient's thoughts and emotional changes are more complicated. When the disease attacks acutely, or the condition worsens, the patient has difficulty in moving and cannot take care of himself, he will feel pessimistic and disappointed, and even have thoughts of suicide. Some lack a correct understanding of the disease, and have a mental state of being eager to show recovery, irritable, and demanding excessive medical results, which seriously affect the efficacy of the treatment. At this time, even if there is a "magic pill", it is difficult to work. Therefore, the nursing ethics for rheumatic patients must provide good emotional care. The specific steps are as follows:

1) Guide and help patients to correctly treat their diseases and relieve their psychological pressure;

2) Seek active cooperation from relatives to achieve the desired therapeutic effect.