Living with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can be challenging, especially when it begins to interfere with daily activities and independence. PsA affects the joints and causes skin, nail, and even eye complications, making routine tasks more difficult over time. Home care assistance can be a valuable lifeline for individuals navigating these challenges. By providing support with everything from household tasks to personal care, home care assistance ensures that your loved one can maintain their independence and quality of life while managing the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis.
What is Psoriatic Arthritis?
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a variation of arthritis that causes joint pain and swelling like other forms of arthritis but also often includes psoriasis. It affects the areas of the body where the ligaments and tendons connect to the bone.
It is an autoimmune disease in which the body incorrectly identifies healthy tissues as foreign substances and creates antibodies to attack those healthy tissues. Those constant attacks on healthy tissue lead to inflammation, pain, and, oftentimes, permanent damage.
Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms
Each person may experience different symptoms of PsA, depending on where the inflammation occurs. Its general characteristics are that it is a form of arthritis with a skin rash. The psoriasis part of it causes red, scaly rashes and pitted, thick nails.
Some people have psoriasis years before developing the arthritic symptoms of inflamed and painful joints. For your loved one, she might have just one of these areas affected by the disease or many of them.
- Back: PsA can affect the spine and cause lower back pain as well as stiffness in the neck.
- Joints: PsA can attack any joint from the fingers to the toes. Joints become swollen and stiff, making movement painful.
- Skin: Psoriatic rashes may develop on the scalp, knees, and/or elbows. These rashes produce itchy, dry, and painful lesions.
- Hands and Feet: Either area can have its joints become swollen and tender to the touch. It can occur in the toes, fingers, ankles, or wrists.
- Elbows: The elbows may become inflamed with pain that radiates from the elbow to the wrist.
- Eyes: Psoriatic arthritis may also cause pain, itching, dryness, and blurred vision in either one or both eyes. This inflammatory condition is known as uveitis.
- Nails: The nails may appear to have a fungal infection from the disease. The nails can become pitted, thick, and discolored.
Five Ways Home Care Assistance Can Help Your Loved One With Psoriatic Arthritis
When your loved one struggles with psoriatic arthritis, it might start to affect how well she can continue to live independently. A home care assistance provider can help your loved one with tasks around the home and personal care tasks to support her desire to continue to live independently.
Six ways your home care assistance provider can support your loved one are:
- Help in the kitchen: Your loved one may need help using certain utensils if her PsA affects her hands and fingers. A home care assistance provider can help by preparing meals to be enjoyed later or taking care of some meal prep tasks like chopping so your loved one can prepare her meal later with ease.
- Assist with pet care: Lifting heavy bags of food and litter might become too difficult. Even cleaning out a fish tank may become a struggle. Let a home care assistance provider help so your loved one can keep her beloved pets.
- Assist with grooming needs: PsA can make it difficult to hold a razor for shaving or dental floss for tooth care. Whatever needs your loved one has, a home care assistance provider can help.
- Provide transportation: If driving becomes too difficult, a home care assistance provider can help with getting your loved one to and from important appointments safely.
- Support mental health: A chronic disease can be difficult emotionally. Having a trusted provider who will listen and be there to lean on can reduce the stress of having PsA.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance in Aurora, CO, please contact the caring staff at Talem Home Care & Placement Services today. Call (720) 789-8529
At Talem Home Care of Broomfield, we provide passionate, understanding, and flexible caregivers in Broomfield, Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Commerce City, Denver, Erie, Firestone, Lafayette, Lakewood, Longmont, Louisville, Northglenn, Sherrelwood, Thornton, Welby, Westminster, Wheat Ridge and surrounding areas in Colorado.
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