It is known as acute rheumatism or acute rheumatic fever when a child or a young adult complains of acute pain and frequently swelling in several joints, and as the inflammation in these joints subsides, other joints become affected.
The attack of acute rheumatism comes on with fever and joint pains appear within twenty-four hours; affected joints are warm and tender to the touch, and are more likely to show effusion in adults. Cardiac involvement is the most important and lethal component. Tonsillitis due to haemolytic streptococcus infection is usually a history.
Symptoms of Acute Rheumatism or Acute Rheumatic Fever
Rheumatic fever typically starts two to four weeks after a strep throat infection, but symptoms can appear sooner or later and change as the disease progresses.
Inflammation in the heart, joints, skin, or central nervous system can cause rheumatic fever signs and symptoms, which include:
- Fever
- Often, the knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists are the most painful and tender joints.
- discomfort that spreads from one joint to another
- swollen, red, or hot joints
- bumps under the skin that are small and not painful
- Chest pain
- Heart murmur
- Fatigue
- Painless rash that is flat or slightly raised and has a ragged edge
- Movements of the hands, feet, and face that are jerky and illogical (Sydenham chorea)
- Symptoms of Sydenham chorea include sudden, unusual behavioral outbursts like crying or inappropriate laughing.
Causes of Acute Rheumatic Fever
Group A streptococcus infections of the throat can result in strep throat or, less frequently, scarlet fever; however, rheumatic fever can develop as a result of these infections.
Rarely do skin or other body site infections with Group A streptococcus result in rheumatic fever.
It’s unclear how strep infection and rheumatic fever are related, but it seems that the bacteria manipulate the immune system.
The body’s immune system, which normally targets infection-causing bacteria, attacks its own tissue, particularly tissues of the heart, joints, skin, and central nervous system. This immune system reaction causes swelling of the tissues (inflammation), and the strep bacteria contain a protein similar to one found in certain tissues of the body.
Risk factors of Acute Rheumatic Fever
Rheumatic fever is made more likely by a number of factors, which include:
- Family history.Some individuals may be predisposed to rheumatic fever by one or more genes.
- Type of strep bacteria.Rheumatic fever is more likely to be caused by specific strep bacteria strains than by other strep bacteria strains.
- Environmental factors.Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and other factors that make it easy for the strep bacteria to spread quickly or to be exposed to multiple people are linked to an increased risk of rheumatic fever.
Complications of Acute Rheumatic Fever
In some cases, the inflammation brought on by rheumatic fever results in long-term complications and can last for a few weeks to several months.
When rheumatic fever is severe, the heart valves can be damaged while your child is still experiencing symptoms, and rheumatic fever can permanently damage the heart (rheumatic heart disease). Problems are most frequently with the mitral valve, which connects the two left chambers of the heart, but other valves can also be affected.
The harm may lead to:
- Narrowing of the valve.This decreases blood flow.
- Leak in the valve.Blood flows incorrectly through a leaky valve.
- Damage to heart muscle.The heart’s ability to pump can be hampered by the rheumatic fever-related inflammation of the heart muscle.
Later in life, issues with the heart can arise from damage to the mitral valve, other heart valves, or other heart tissues, with possible outcomes including:
- (Atrial Fibrillation) An unsteady and disorderly heartbeat
- Heart failure
Homoeopathic Treatment of Acute Rheumatic Fever
After the acute phase of fever has passed, the patient typically experiences pains in the limbs and joints. Aconitum napellus, belladonna, Bryonia alba, arsenicum album, and rhus toxicodendron are the remedies that are typically indicated at the onset of fever.
Colchicum Autumnale :heart disease with rheumatism; peri carditis appears when symptoms of limbs disappear. There is anxiety in the region of the heart and oppression, which is better by walking. The pain is worse by mental exertion, emotions, the slightest touch, and vibrations.
Kalmia Latifoliahas a notable effect on the heart; it is a heart circulation, nerve, and rheumatic remedy. The pains are neuralgic, shooting downwards with tingling, numbness, trembling, and paralytic weakness; pains along the ulnar nerve go into the third or fourth finger; the joints are red, hot, and swollen; tingling and numbness of the left arm indicates cardiac involvement; rheumatic wandering pains;
Ruta Graveolenshas a fondness for fibrous tissues, flexor tendons, joints, cartilages, and the periosteum. Rheumatism- pains are sore, aching, in the periosteum. Cracking in joints; knees give way while going up or down stairs. Pain, as if deep in the bones. Acute rheumatism after overusing or straining joints, ligaments, or tendons
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