Behcet's Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Behcets disease is a disease from the class of diseases known as vaculitis. These are mostly diseases that affect small blood vessels. This disease is one of the oldest ailments that has been ravaging the human race. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, talked of this disease long ago, before it was officially classified by a skin specialist known as Dr Hulusi Behcet.
This explains the name of the disease. It was mainly witnessed in the Far East, and was strongly connected with the silk trade. Nowadays, it is mostly predominant in Turkey, where more than 50 percent of the people affected with this disease can be found. Behcets syndrome is a kind of inflammatory disorder in the body and has multiple symptoms and presentations. It affects various parts of the body including the mouth, genitals. It causes skin lesions of various types and eventually affects the eyes. It is a disease that spreads to almost all the parts of the body. It also affects the brain and spinal cord, the digestive system, and then the blood vessels. The lungs, too, are not exempt from this disease.
Causes
In all honesty, the cause of this disease is still unknown. It would be very wrong to make assumptions, as some things are yet to be established and the known causes of the disease remain in question. What is known, however, is that the disease was mostly predominant amidst silk farmers, and that it originated from silk farms. It stretched from the old silk route, which included the business route from the Far East to the Mediterranean. It has also spread to other parts of the world from this initial predominant location.
Symptoms
The symptoms of behcet syndrome, or disorder, include an abnormal change in some of the mucous membrane areas. Additionally, you will witness a spontaneous disappearance and reappearance of lesions of the mouth. Sufferers will also witness a sort of inflammation of the eyes, which might include such things as anterior uveitis and panuveitis being swollen. The central nervous system, joints and other systems in the body, such as the spinal cord, large blood vessels, and digestive system become infected and affected. Because the causes are unknown, the symptoms might not be pronounced. However, whenever you notice all of these, especially if you reside in the areas that are prone to this disease, you should seek medical help and proper diagnosis.
Treatment
When it comes to the case of oral or mouth ulcers, which are one of the most frequent presentations of the disease, you will need to treat it with oral ulcer drugs such as a local corticosteroid gel. Others can be treated with different types of corticosteroid, such as indomethacin and meslamine. You can also make use of such drugs as sulfasalazine. However, these should all be used as prescribed by a physician.
About the Author
Dr. James S. Pendergraft opened the Orlando Women's Center in March 1996 to provide a full range of health care for women.
Tell others about
this page:
Comments? Questions? Email Here