With the passage of time, the Human body makes a slow and gradual change. The body starts to become weak, and many diseases start to happen. Such two very common conditions that happen at a certain age are Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis. They both are the type of arthritis that is basically a type of joint pain but have different symptoms and are often confused with each other.
Rheumatoid vs Psoriatic Arthritis
The main difference between Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis is that they both have different symptoms and different diagnosis methods. Rheumatoid arthritis is easily diagonal with the help of blood tests and having the presence of certain antibodies, whereas Psoriatic arthritis is not diagnosable using blood tests, and certain symptoms had to be taken into account.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a type of arthritis that causes inflammatory arthritis and is typically asymmetric. They affect the middle joints of the toes and fingers. They can rarely affect the spine, unlike psoriatic. They can lead to rheumatoid nodules and can be present in the cervical spine. Their symptoms include dry mouth, dry eyes, fever, etc.
Psoriatic Arthritis is a type of arthritis that is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, but it also comes with a nasty skin rash. They are typically asymmetrical and can be present in the axial spine. Affecting the joints of the base of fingers and toes, Psoriatic arthritis is not easy diagonal, unlike rheumatoid.
Comparison Table Between Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis
What is Rheumatoid?
Rheumatoid is a type of symmetrical arthritis that causes inflammation in the joints, including hands, feet, elbows, ankles, etc. They rarely affect the spine and can be present in the cervical spine. They are easily diagnosable, and certain tests like Autoantibody blood tests, Inflammatory blood makers, and imaging tests are done to check the rheumatoid presence.
If left untreated, they can lead to long-term joint damage, cardiovascular disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. They often start with smaller joints such as the joints in fingers, toes, ankles, etc. They call also lead to fever, fatigue, and weight loss. They are very painful as they attack the lining of the tissues around your joints.
What is Psoriatic Arthritis?
Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that is accompanied by a skin condition called Psoriatic in which the person suffers from red scaly skin rash. They have common symptoms such as joint pain, which mainly happens at the base of fingers and toes, stiffness, and swelling also. Ranging from mild to severe, they can affect fingers, toes as well as spine also.
There is no proper cure or exact reason for having this condition. It may be present in family genes and asked at the time of diagnosis. They can only be treated using medicines and sometimes physical exercises or surgery, but if they are left untreated, they can be disabling.
Main Differences Between Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis
- Rheumatoid is typically symmetrical in nature, whereas Psoriatic Arthritis is typically asymmetrical in nature.
- Rheumatoid mainly affects the middle joints of the toes and fingers, whereas Psoriatic arthritis affects the base joints of the fingers and toes.
- Rheumatoid rarely affects the spine, whereas Psoriatic arthritis causes inflammation of the lower spine.
- For Rheumatoid, Blood tests can be done for checking the presence of two antibodies – rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), which indicates the presence of disease also. Whereas For Psoriatic arthritis, Blood tests are usually not done, but certain factors can be taken into account for their diagnosis, such as Asymmetrical joint involvement, skin and nail involvement, etc.
- Rheumatoid If left untreated, they can cause long-term joint damage, carpal tunnel syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, etc., whereas Psoriatic arthritis, If left untreated, can cause diabetes, depression, kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.
- Rheumatoid symptoms include fever, dry mouth, joint pain, dry eyes, loss of fatigue, etc., whereas Psoriatic arthritis symptoms include swelling and pain in at least one joint, inflammation of the eyes, foot pain, back pain, etc.
Conclusion
Both of these arthritides are non-curable and cannot be treated fully. But they can be treated to reduce the pain to some extent. Rheumatoid arthritis is somewhat easily diagnosable, which is an edge over psoriatic. Also, there is no skin rash present in the case of rheumatoid. However, Psoriatic arthritis is not easily diagnosable as well as the patient also has to suffer from skin rashes.
Since both of the conditions are non-curable, it is advised to take precautions and lead a healthy lifestyle to avoid them. So, whenever any person shows any symptoms of Rheumatoid or Psoriatic, they should immediately consult doctors as they can also lead to serious conditions if left untreated.
References
- https://www.jrheum.org/content/33/11/2167.short
- https://ard.bmj.com/content/69/12/2114.short