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Home :: Family Health :: Reiter's Syndrome Reiter's Syndrome - Reiter's Syndrome symptom, treatment, causes
Reiter's syndrome is sometimes called reactive arthritis, because it develops as a 'reaction' to an infection in part of your body other than your joints . Reiter's syndrome is also called reactive arthritis because the joint inflammation appears to be a reaction to an infection originating in the intestine or genital tract. This syndrome is most common in men aged 20 to 40. There are two forms of Reiter's syndrome. One occurs with sexually transmitted diseases such as a chlamydial infection and occurs most often in young men the other usually follows an intestinal infection such as shigellosis or salmonellosis. Most people who have these infections do not develop Reiter's syndrome. People who develop Reiter's syndrome after exposure to these infections appear to have a genetic predisposition to this type of reaction, related in part to the same gene found in people who have ankylosing spondylitis. There is some evidence that the chlamydia and possibly other bacteria actually spread to the joints, but the roles of the infection and the immune reaction to it are not clear.
Reiter syndrome is a collection of symptoms but generally has three main features arthritis, genitourinary tract symptoms and conjunctivitis. It is one of a family of arthritic disorders, called spondylarthropathies, affecting the spine and commonly involving the joints of the spine and sacroiliac joints. It can also affect many other parts of the body such as arms and legs. Main characteristic features are inflammation of the joints, urinary tract, eyes and ulceration of skin and mouth.
Causes of Reiter's Syndrome
The common Causes of Reiter's Syndrome :
- Sexually transmitted disease triggers, such as chlamydia.
- Bacterial triggers, such as salmonella, shigella, campylobacter.
- HLA-B27 gene20 percent of people who have this gene get Reiter's; about 80 percent of people with Reiter's have the HLA-B27 gene.
- White males ages 20 to 40 are at higher risk.
Symptoms of Reiter's Syndrome
Mild fever. conjunctivitis and arth-ritis develop over several weeks. beginning about a week after the onset of painful urination from ure-thritis or diarrhoea from dysentery. Conjunctivitis is usually mild, but the inflammation sometimes spreads to the cornea (transparent area in front of the coloured part of the eye, the iris) or to the iris itself. Arthritis most often affects the knees, ankles and toes. Affected joints are warm, painful and stiff, and nearby tendons and ligaments may become inflamed. Small painless ulcers often develop in the mouth and on the head of the penis, and there may be patchy skin-thickening on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and around the nails. Symptoms typically settle down over 3 to 4 months and, although relapses can occur over sev-eral years, patients are rarely disabled by long-term disease. Some common Symptoms of Reiter's Syndrome :
- Urethral discharge.
- Low back pain.
- Fever.
- Redness of the eye.
- Skin lesions on the palms and soles that may resemble psoriasis.
- Weight loss.
- Sensitivity to light.
- Discharge from the eye.
- Chills.
Treatment of Reiter's Syndrome
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- An experimental drug taken orally or by injection for chronic arthritis frequent blood and liver tests are needed.
- Bed rest.
- Strengthening exercises.
- Corticosteroids.
- A promising experimental drug for arthritis.
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