Danger Signs In Rheumatism |
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Fever is a thing that should make you refrain from treating your condition as rheumatism yourself. Either you have the beginning of a severe attack of rheumatoid arthritis or a septic joint, in either of which you need a doctor, or else you have some unrelated illness with or without rheumatism, in which case treatment for rheumatism is beside the point.
Loss of weight and general misery do occur in a severe attack of rheumatoid arthritis but they are not otherwise part of rheumatism. They demand attention in their won right and should not be allowed to pass as 'just the rheumatism dragging you down.'
If you have a pain which stays constantly in one place or which is severe, think again. A severe pain here means a pain which is enough to keep you awake for hours at a time, pain which is not appreciably relieved by over-the-counter medicines or pain which takes your mind off everything else. Another danger sign in connection with pain is a change in its character. If you have lived for months or years with the pains of your rheumatism and have got used to the way in which they are relieved by your usual remedies --- warmth, massage, tablets and so on -- and you find that the pains are so different, or that they are not relieved in the usual way, then you are probably not dealing with your rheumatism but dealing with something different.
Swellings may occur in rheumatism but they may also occur in a number of other conditions, some of which need special treatment. If, therefore, you have a swelling do not put it down to rheumatism until a doctor has agreed with you. |
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