Four Medications for Easing Arthritis

Once you are diagnosed with arthritis (RA), it’s very important for you to start the early treatment with the best medical options to help prevent irreversible damage to the joints which will eventually lead to deformities. The earlier you start the treatment the better off you are.

As active arthritis can cause major damage to joints, medications are usually part of the treatment to help suppress inflammation, besides curbing the physical deformities, as well as to prevent further damage to joints.

Below are four commonly used drugs for RA:

Corticosteroids

Also known as glucocorticoids, corticosteroids are regarded as a powerful agent used to suppress the immunity and to reduce the inflammation. Prednisone and prednisolone are two examples of them. These medications are commonly prescribed for moderate to severe RA during which the DMARDs and NSAIDs unsuccessful in controlling arthritis.

Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)

Two examples of this medication are naproxen and ibuprofen, which are prescribed as painkillers to help reduce inflammation and relieve arthritis symptoms but they don’t help stop the progress of RA. Besides these two, piroxicam, indomethacin, diclofensc and sulindac are also available over the counter as prescribed medications.

Biologic Agents

These biologic agents including adalimumab, infliximab and etanercept are a new class of medications for arthritis which are also known as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. Occurring naturally in the body, TNF is a main cause of inflammation and joint pain and it’s found abundantly or in higher concentrations in the joint fluids of rheumatic sufferers. These inhibitors work to block/suppress the TNF effect by attaching to the TNF.

Disease-modifying Anti-rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs)

Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including penicillamine, oral gold, azathioprine, intra-muscular gold injections, leflunomide, methotrexate, anti-malarials, sulfasalazine and cyclosporine are known as slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs (SAARDs) which have been shown to be effective in delaying the progress of joint erosion, while suppressing inflammation.

Warning: Overdose of these medications may cause unexpected side effects including liver damage. It’s always better to follow the advice of your doctor while taking this medication.

For natural remedy on relieving arthritis pain, please read Turmeric TKOs Motrin.

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