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Arthritis: Arthritis Medicines Overview
There are literally dozens of medications available over-the-counter and by prescription to treat the various forms of arthritis. Your doctor can help you choose what drugs are best for your particular disease.
Topical Pain Relievers
These over-the counter drugs can provide quick pain relief for people with arthritis that is in just a few joints -- such as a hand or whose pain isn't severe.
Anti-Inflammatory Painkillers (NSAIDs)
These drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription, can be used to relieve the symptoms of arthritis (joint swelling, stiffness, and pain). Almost everyone with arthritis has taken or is taking one of these drugs.
Often these drugs are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.
Narcotic Pain Relievers
Narcotic pain relievers help with pain but don't relieve joint inflammation. Often they are combined with Tylenol (acetaminophen) or an NSAID to enhance their effects. You can develop dependency on narcotic drugs if not used as directed, and they can cause constipation, urinary problems, and sedation.
Corticosteroids ("Steroids")
Steroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that can treat many forms of arthritis including rheumatoid arthritis, plus lupus and other forms of inflammation such as vasculitis.
Although effective, steroids can have many side effects, especially when taken as a pill and used long term. Often, doctors try to avoid these problems by injecting the steroid into the affected joint or trying other medications in combination to keep the dose of steroids as low as possible.
Hyaluronan Injections
There are several versions of hyaluronan injections -- also called viscosupplementation -- that are used to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. They are injected directly into the joint. They have been shown to reduce pain in a knee affected by osteoarthritis, increasing mobility and allowing more activity.
Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs)
These drugs are often able to alter the course of some forms of inflammatory arthritis -- diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis -- that can destroy the joints. Often these drugs are the first ones used for these diseases.
DMARDs work by interfering with or suppressing the immune system that attacks the joints in people with certain forms of inflammatory arthritis. Aggressive treatment of arthritis often involves using one or more DMARDs.
Although effective, DMARDs have a higher risk of serious side effects. It also often takes weeks for you to notice the benefits of taking a DMARD. Therefore, they are often combined with a faster working drug such as an NSAID, another painkiller, or steroids to help relieve some arthritis symptoms.
Biologic Therapy
Currently approved to treat certain forms of inflammatory arthritis such as psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, biologic response modifiers (biologics) work by altering the function of the immune system that attacks the joints.
These drugs must be administered by intravenous (by vein) infusion or by an injection and they are more expensive than other arthritis drugs.
Chemotherapy Medications
Chemotherapy, traditionally used as cancer treatment, helps people with certain inflammatory and autoimmune diseases because it slows cell reproduction and decreases certain products made by these cells that cause an inflammatory response to occur. The doses of medication used for rheumatic or autoimmune conditions are lower than the doses used for cancer treatment.
Gout Medicines
These drugs relieve the pain and swelling and reduce uric acid levels caused by gout.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases.
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic
SOURCES:
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Arthritis: Topical Painkillers."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Anti-Inflammatory Painkillers and Arthritis."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Steroids to Treat Arthritis."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Arthritis: Disease Modifying Medications."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "New Treatments for Inflammatory Arthritis: Biologics."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Arthritis: Narcotic Pain Relievers."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Chemotherapy Drugs to treat Arthritis."
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Hyaluronan Injections to Treat Osteoarthritis." WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Gout."
