Every year on October 12, World Arthritis Day, or WAD, is a global awareness day. Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, also known as RMDs, have a global impact, and WAD aims to educate as many people as possible about them. Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) was the first organization to establish WAD in 1996.There are over 200 RMDs, but little is known about their crippling effects; However, their influence is largely invisible.
There are more than a hundred diseases that affect the joints, and the term “arthritis” refers to all of them. It can result in pain, stiffness, and sometimes difficulty moving a joint due to swelling in or around it. In rheumatoid arthritis, our immune system attacks the joints, whereas in osteoarthritis, the cartilage that sits between the bones in a joint is damaged. It can harm muscles, connective tissue, tendons, and fibrous tissue as well as the joints.
Apart from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout, infectious and reactive arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis are other types of arthritis.
In the EU as a whole, far too many people with RMD go undiagnosed. With an estimated one hundred million people who are struggling to cope with symptoms that are frequently ignored and frequently misdiagnosed and have not been diagnosed. Diseases that affect people’s quality of life and ability to participate in society, including access to the workforce, affect a significant portion of the world’s population. An individual’s self-esteem suffers as a result of their inability to work, and they become more dependent on welfare, the healthcare system, and their loved ones. As a result, people with RMD are unaware of their symptoms, options for diagnosis and treatment, and how to create and implement a career plan to achieve independence.
A family doctor is typically the first source of assistance for those seeking treatment for unidentified symptoms. However, healthcare systems frequently lack the capacity to provide RMD patients with the necessary diagnosis, access, care, and treatment. There is very little instruction in RMD in medical school; This indicates that symptoms frequently go unnoticed, are misdiagnosed, or are improperly treated. The lack of rheumatology specialists in most European countries, let alone worldwide, adds further complexity to the situation. As a consequence of this, people who do not have access to rheumatologists, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, or others who have been trained in the RMD field face a significant disadvantage in their lives.
The RMD treatments that have been developed in recent decades have produced favourable research outcomes; There are effective drugs, a strategy that includes providing care, physical therapy, nutrition, and psychological support. However, these discoveries are little known outside of rheumatology, and there is still a lack of public funding for rheumatology-focused research. People who have an RMD frequently suffer from a number of co-morbidities, including cancer, which, like RMD, is rooted in body inflammation. It is in everyone’s best interest to be able to better study RMDs and their role in causing inflammation in the body, thereby reducing the impact of other diseases like cancer. All societal systems—as well as all individuals—will gain from higher levels of scientific research, which will result in increased volumes of data and evidence, as well as ever-improving medications for the management of RMDs.
Kerala Academy of Pharmacy on this day spread awareness about the illness and ways to prevent it. Upholding the saying “prevention is better than cure”, Kerala Academy of Pharmacy aware the individuals about the importance of health. Thus, this day is a remembrance to take some time out think and do something for our own health.
