Psoriatic arthritis is a serious condition that impacts the joints of those patients who are affected by the skin disease psoriasis. Those with mild psoriasis or have relatives with psoriasis can be affected by this condition. Psoriasis results in itchy, scaly red patches on the skin. People who have psoriasis are at a higher risk of being affected by serious ailments and diseases including, arthritis, depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. One-third of the people who are affected by psoriasis are likely to be affected by psoriatic arthritis. They are likely to feel pain in more than one joints or extremities of fingers and toes. Swelling, redness, and warmth can be seen in the affected joints. Nails undergo changes and some experience pain in the lower back. This is an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune system mistakenly damages the lining of the joints resulting in inflammation and pain. Since there is no cure for psoriatic arthritis, medications that include corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), have to be administered for long periods. One cannot completely stop the medication, but symptoms can be managed better with changes in the way one lives, eats and thinks. It is important to consult your doctor before making one or many of these changes in your daily life.

Can there be anything more uncomfortable than a runny nose, continuous sneezing and coughing accompanied by a sore throat, fever or headache/body ache? We don’t have to imagine this because we all have gone through this more than once. What makes it worse is the fact that we are carriers of the virus; one sneeze is all it takes it to pass it on to someone else. 1. Do I have the flu or is it just a common cold? Common cold and influenza (flu) is caused by viruses that affect the respiratory tract. Many symptoms can overlap, so it becomes difficult for one to assess if they have a common cold or flu. A common cold manifests as milder symptoms and will affect one for a shorter period, while all types of flu will have severe symptoms and the impact of the flu can spread over a few weeks. Flu can also lead to other serious health complications, whereas symptoms of a cold go away after treatment. 2. Symptoms of colds and flu Cold, invariably, starts with a sore throat, and develops into a runny nose and congestion, headache and cough. Mucus from the nose gets thicker as one gets better.