Helpful Medications for Arthritis

The pain associated with severe forms of arthritis can be excruciating. Even though there is nothing available that will cure arthritis altogether, there are some medications on the market that can bump the pain down to a level which the patient can handle.
Follow your Doctor's Advice on Arthritis Medications
The list that follows will give you brief summaries of the medications that are most often taken for arthritis. As with any medication, consult your doctor before giving it a try.
* NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) are the most commonly-used medications which people use for relief from the pain, inflammation, and fever that accompany arthritis. These drugs are popular because they can be easily purchased over-the-counter, and you don't need a doctor's prescription to obtain them. One caution about them is necessary, though. If you take them for too long of a time period, they may prove harmful to your health.
* The second type of medications often used for arthritis are called corticosteroids. As the name suggests, they are steroids which can be used successfully to treat severe arthritic inflammation. There are potential problems with the usage of these drugs, because they need to be taken on a regular schedule, they are extremely addictive, and after you've been on them for awhile you need to taper off the dosage instead of just quitting them.
* The third type of medications commonly used to treat arthritis are Biological Response Modifiers (BMR). A BMR blocks the body from forming cytokines, groups of proteins and peptides that signal compounds produced by your body cells to communicate with one another. In other words, BMRs stop cytokines from telling your brain about the pain in your joints so you don't feel as much pain.
* DMARD (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs) are prescribed by doctors when every other alternative has been tried. They work through the immune system to slow down the body's response to disease and are quite effective in providing pain relief.
Consult your doctor to find out what he feels is the best way to treat your arthritis. You should plan on regular visits with him so that he can keep abreast of changes in your pain level and continue to prescribe the correct medications for whatever stage of the disease you are in. You might also want to look into the many herbal/alternative medicines that are available. They are reputed to do a lot to control pain and inflammation without any side effects.

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