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Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares: Symptoms, Triggers, and Solutions

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Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares: Symptoms, Triggers, and Solutions

When a flare hits, taking action early can make a big difference.

Immediate Steps

Some steps you can take immediately and on your own to soothe or manage your symptoms include:

  • Resting up and engaging in relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and guided imagery, to release both physical tension and emotional stress
  • Using heat or cold therapy — heat to relax stiff muscles or cold to reduce swelling
  • Taking a hot shower or gently stretching to relieve morning stiffness
  • Using assistive devices such as splints and braces, walking canes, and button hooks, as needed

  • Distracting yourself from the pain by engaging in an activity you enjoy (that doesn’t heavily rely on your problematic joints) and keeping your mind busy while doing other activities

Also remember to lean on your support system. While your loved ones may not be able to take away your pain or other symptoms, they can help you with day-to-day activities, especially those that could make your symptoms worse.

Pharmaceutical Interventions

Various medications can also help to reduce symptoms. Always consult with your healthcare provider before starting new medications or changing your dosages of current medications.

Over-the-counter or prescription-strength pain relievers and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen, acetaminophen, and aspirin, can help provide quick relief for mild pain and inflammation during an RA flare.

If you’re experiencing severe symptoms during your flare-up, your provider may recommend low-dose corticosteroids like prednisone, given by injection if your symptoms are localized or orally if your symptoms cover more than one area of your body. These drugs can quickly reduce inflammation, but high-dose or long-term use of steroids can pose serious health risks.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, or DMARDs, are another class of medication used to treat RA. If you have RA, your treatment plan will likely include one or more DMARDs. These drugs, however, don’t treat specific symptoms of RA — they instead help slow the progression of the disease by modifying the immune system activity behind inflammation. Switching to a different DMARD while experiencing a flare will likely not provide relief in the short term, because DMARDs in general take time to work. Switching may even worsen the flare initially, but it could also shorten the flare by weeks or months and help prevent future flare-ups.

Biologics are a more advanced type of DMARDs that target specific biological processes or molecules that cause RA-related inflammation. If you’re experiencing an RA flare with significant symptoms or one that’s not adequately controlled by other medications, your provider may start you on a biologic along with or instead of other drug therapies.

Holistic and Lifestyle Approaches

Other holistic and lifestyle approaches to treat your RA flare include:

  • Improving your sleep hygiene for better sleep, such as by establishing set sleep and wake times, creating a comfortable sleep environment that’s dark and cool, and avoiding heavy meals before bed

  • Eating anti-inflammatory foods, such as those rich in omega-3 fatty and antioxidants, and avoiding those that promote inflammation

  • Engaging in gentle physical activity, such as hand exercises, swimming, and low-impact tai chi or yoga
  • Adjusting your overall response to pain through mindfulness practices, deep breathing exercises, and counseling or psychotherapy

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