There are millions of people worldwide that suffer from arthritis without knowing that it is already arthritis. Normally, old folks are bothered by symptoms like swollen or stiff joints that makes it hard for them to move especially around morning time. Millions of old people daily have a hard time performing even simple tasks such as walking or getting up from bed due to arthritis.
Usually, people find relief in medications once they feel pain even if the cause is not yet clear. The truth is, arthritis simply does not go away and would continue to affect millions of elderly people globally.
It is them important to have the correct diagnosis for arthritis in order to get the proper treatment. Intake of certain medicines without doctor’s advice can even worsen the situation since some drugs can weaken the immune system. A weakened immune system aggravates arthritis so correct diagnosis for arthritis is very crucial step towards coping with arthritis.
As with any other disease, seeking a doctor’s advice is the basic step for a correct diagnosis of arthritis. In majority of cases, doctors require laboratory tests and a medical history of patients which can help him arrive at the right diagnosis. Due to the different forms of arthritis – numbering to at least a hundred types, it’s best to determine which one is really affecting you.
Most of the time, doctors look for common symptoms like stiffness, presence of nodules in the hands, limited range of motion, fever through a physical exam of the patient. If such symptoms happen almost daily and flare up in some time, usually arthritis is diagnosed.
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A secondary step in that would lead to the right diagnosis are laboratory exams such as blood tests, rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, CBC, x-rays etc.. The doctor can ask a patient to undergo certain tests but not really all the tests aforementioned. A thorough examination of the patient as well as laboratory results can specifically determine the type of arthritis.
Arthritis may be debilitating if precautions are not taken to prevent the worsening of this disease. Seek a health professional for accurate diagnosis of arthritis.
