Common signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis to watch out for

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic condition which makes the immune system attack the body leading to joint pain and other symptoms. It mainly affects people who already have psoriasis. Psoriasis signs symptoms include small scaling spots, itching, soreness, burning, stiff and swollen joints, red patches on the skin with thick silvery scales, pitted, thickened, ridged nails and dry, cracked, bleeding skin.

Psoriatic arthritis-symptoms are quite similar to the symptoms of different types of arthritis and other health conditions. Thus, it can sometimes be difficult to diagnose psoriatic arthritis. Doctors suggest that it is important to recognize, diagnose, and treat the disease before it becomes worse.

Here are a few essential things to know about psoriatic arthritis-symptoms.

Gender and age
Psoriatic arthritis can affect anybody at any age. Even children can get this disease. However, it most frequently affects people between the age group of 30 and 50 years. There are five types of psoriatic arthritis, and people of both the genders are equally likely to get affected by it. More than 1 million people are suffering from this condition in the USA; there is no blood test to diagnose this skin problem.

Scaly skin
Around 7.5 million American have psoriasis, which is an autoimmune disease.

It causes scaly skin patches. About 30% of people suffering from psoriasis are at risk of developing psoriatic arthritis in the future. In most cases, psoriasis occurs 10 to 15 years before arthritis. Some people even get arthritis before psoriasis. About 10% of the patients are diagnosed with both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at the same time. Psoriatic arthritis does not depend on the severity of psoriasis. Some symptoms of psoriasis are quite easy to overlook since they are so mild that people are often wrongly diagnosed with other types of arthritis like osteoarthritis.

Joint trouble
Psoriatic arthritis gives people painful and stiff joints that are warm to touch and looks red. A particular issue can be morning stiffness. This kind of joint problems is often misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Like any other autoimmune diseases, psoriatic arthritis-symptoms flare up and then subside, only to flare up again in the future. Psoriatic arthritis may be an incurable disease but a treatable one. The symptoms range from mild to severe. Joint destruction is a severe symptom which can be treated by undergoing joint replacement operation.

Asymmetrical pain
It may not always be the case, but psoriatic arthritis affects large joints of the legs like the ankles, knees, and fingertips. The pain can be asymmetrical which means while one knee is affected the other may not have any problem. Psoriatic arthritis has five subtypes, and four of them are asymmetrical which form 80% of the cases.

Swollen fingers
Psoriatic arthritis causes swelling in the toes and fingers or dactylitis in 40% of people. Since this symptom is rare in other types of arthritis, doctors can easily distinguish this symptom of psoriatic arthritis.

Foot pain
Psoriatic arthritis can cause foot pain as well. However, if there is enthesitis, which is an inflammation of the area connecting the bone to a ligament or tendon, occurs in the foot, it can very well be misdiagnosed as heel spur or plantar fasciitis. People who have lupus or rheumatoid arthritis can also have foot pain.

Toenail and fingernail pitting
One of the distressing psoriatic arthritis-symptoms is pitted or discolored toenails and fingernails. The nails can even fall off. This symptom is most common with distal interphalangeal arthropathy, which is a kind of psoriatic arthritis. Often the joints at the end of the toes and fingers are affected with this symptom along with the nails. This is most common in men than in women and affects 5% cases. Since nail changes indicate psoriatic arthritis-symptoms or psoriasis symptom primarily, doctors find it easier to diagnose the disease with this warning sign.

Back trouble
Back problems are quite common in people suffering from psoriatic arthritis. Stiffness and inflammation in the neck, spine, pelvis, tendons, and ligaments attached to the spine cause the pain. 1 in 5 patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis has psoriatic spondylitis where the spinal bones fuse together. In about 5% of patients, spinal symptoms are one of the sole psoriatic arthritis-symptoms that should be considered as warning signs.

Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the common psoriatic arthritis-symptoms like any other autoimmune disease. This is probably because patients suffering from physical disability, pain, psychological distress, and inflammation in the body are bound to experience fatigue as well.

Eye problems
Patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis tend to get eye inflammation called iritis or conjunctivitis, which causes blurry vision and causes pain and redness in the eyes and leads to sensitivity to light.

Finger deformities
Psoriatic arthritis causes flexion deformity at times. This condition causes fingers to be pulled out of their regular alignment. This affects about 5% of people suffering from psoriatic arthritis. This causes psoriatic mutilans. If the condition is left untreated, it can lead to the destruction of joints in the neck, feet, hands, and lower back.