This is classified into various types. Here are few of them…
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
This is considered to be autoimmune disease, which brings chronic inflammation of the joints. This is also cause swelling of the other organs and tissue surrounding the joints in the body. The autoimmune diseases are the conditions in which, the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by body’s own self defense mechanism.
The immune system is nothing but the complex organization of the bodily cells and antibodies that are designed normally to seek and destroy the invaders of the body especially infections. Persons with autoimmune diseases produce antibodies in their blood that target and attack their own bodily tissues or cells. These can be accompanied by inflammation. As the disease can affect multiple organs in the body the rheumatoid arthritis is also referred as rheumatoid disease.
As said, rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness and may last long for years. However the patients may experience long periods without having any symptoms. Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive disease and hence it may cause joint functional disability and destruction.
When the Vata Dosha mixes with the ama (indigestible material or bad toxins), it gets seated at different joints in the body and produces the disease called “aamvaat” – rheumatoid arthritis. This comes under autoimmune diseases as per the modern classification. The RA factor (rheumatoid arthritis factor, the test performed to diagnose) is positive.
GOUT
This is the condition which results from the crystals of uric acid get deposited in the tissues of the body. This is featured by an overload of the uric acid in the body and recurring episodes of inflammation of the joints – arthritis. If gout persist for long term, this can lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid around and in the joints, kidney stones and altered kidney functions.
Gout is often related to an inherited abnormality of the body’s ability to process uric acid. Uric acid is nothing but the breakdown products of the purines which are part of many foods we eat. When the uric acid is abnormally handled, it may cause attacks of troublesome arthritis (gout attack). This may also block the kidney filtering tubules with uric acid crystals. This leads to kidney failure. In some cases, person may only develop increased blood uric acid levels (known as hyperuricemia) without having kidney problem or having arthritis. But above all, the gout term is referred to the painful arthritis attack.
Gouty arthritis is an extremely troublesome and painful attack with sudden onset of joint which becomes inflammation. The inflamed joint is precipitated by the deposits of the crystals of uric acids within the synovial fluid (joint fluid) and synovial lining (joint lining). Severe joint inflammation occurs as white blood cells takes up the uric acid crystals and in the response to that they release chemicals that may cause inflammation, heat, redness and painful condition of joint tissues.
Ayurveda resembles this situation with Vatarakta (say – vaa tar a k taa) where the blood and Vata Dosha gets vitiated. This captures usually small joints in the body.
JUVENILE ARTHRITIS
Juvenile arthritis is the common form of arthritis in children or adolescent. For some it could be mild problem, but for some children this becomes dangerous and damages tissues and joints.
However there is no test to diagnose, the juvenile arthritis is labeled when one or more joints are affected for more than six weeks to a child. This is to be treated and not left untouched as it may cause severe damage to a child.
OSTEOARTHRITIS
This is the form of arthritis that usually develops in elderly. This is characterized by chronic degeneration of the cartilages of the joint and hence also termed as degenerative join disease.
Ayurveda believes this to be “Asthigata Vata”. Here asthi means bones and Vata means the arthritic condition where Vata Dosha is involved. When the Vata Dosha gets vitiated and seated deep into the bone, this situation arises.
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