Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory form of arthritis which causes joint pain and damage by attacking the lining of the joints, causing pain and swelling and this can also lead to deformity. It is more common, two to three times, in women than in men and the vulnerable age is between forty and sixty..

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but with drugs (mostly these are not helping) and reasonable life style, one can have a long and productive life.

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include:

• Joint swelling, pain
• Joints which are sensitive to the touch
• Fatigue
• Red and puffy hands
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Morning stiffness which lasts around 30 minutes
• Firm bumps of tissue, rheumatoid nodules under the skin of the arms.

Medical sciences do not have an answer what causes this process of white blood cells coming to joints, which in course of time leads to rheumatoid arthritis. Here the genes, one’s life style including animal food, smoking, alcohol, environmental toxins, oxygen free radicals and may be viruses are the causes.

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis and the main aim of the treatment is to reduce the inflammation in the joints to relieve pain and prevent or at least slow joint damage. Early and good treatment may slow the joint damage and can help to reduce the risk of disability. Drugs are the first choice, but in advanced joint damage surgery is needed. It is important to know that all the drugs are not equally good and here the pharmaceutical industry has produced questionable drugs according to experts and it is also observed by me in thousands of patients because these patients have tried almost every drug which is available in the hope of pain relief.

Self-care measures can help you to lead a satisfactory life. The following are important to do:

• Do regularly exercise
• Eat a healthy diet
• Try to protect your joints always
• Use the devices which help you to lead an independent daily life
• Apply heat or cold which helps to relieve pain
• Do not worry about anything, relax and relax always.

Alternative medicine plays also an important role in rheumatoid arthritis and it is worth trying it if the allopathy drugs do not bring relief. I have met several people who manage this disease with alternative natural medicines as well as with right food. Raw food helps here.