Inflammation comes in two types—acute and chronic. Acute inflammation helps us with the healing process and is generally short-lived. Chronic inflammation is more concerning and can lead to serious health complications.
In chronic inflammation, the effects linger, leaving the body in a constant state of panic. Over time, chronic inflammation will start to have a negative impact on tissues and organs. Chronic inflammation can stick around for months or even years. It plays a role in the development of many diseases from autoimmune diseases to cancer.
Classic signs of inflammation include fatigue, fever, and joint and muscle pain. Inflammation is also known for causing symptoms that are considered atypical. This can include things like balance issues, insulin resistance, muscle weakness, eye problems, skin issues, and more.
Regardless of the symptoms of inflammation you experience, none of these symptoms should be ignored.
Talk to your healthcare provider if you experience persistent low back and hip pain. Early treatment can manage the condition, control pain and stiffness, and reduce the risk for disability.
Inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis develop when the immune system triggers inflammation that attacks skin cells. But even conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which don’t usually cause skin symptoms can trigger inflammation that attacks the skin.
About 1 in 100 people with RA will have some kind of skin involvement as part of their disease. Skin involvement in RA indicates a severe form of the disease. This may advance into complications of the disease like rheumatoid nodules, Felty syndrome, livedo reticularis, and rheumatoid vasculitis.
Talk to your healthcare provider about any new skin symptoms you experience. They can determine the source and provide you with treatment options.
A sore throat or cold can cause lymph nodes to swell up in the neck. Once your body has fought off the viral infection, you will start to feel better and the swelling will be gone.
A number of inflammatory diseases can trigger mucus production including chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
If excess mucus production is a regular and uncomfortable occurrence for you, talk to your healthcare provider about getting a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Talk to your healthcare provider if fatigue and low energy are giving you any amount of concern. You should make an appointment with your healthcare provider for fatigue that has lasted two or more weeks despite getting better sleep, reducing stress, eating healthy, and staying hydrated.
A number of inflammatory diseases can cause digestive symptoms from those directly connected to your digestive health, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to those that cause all over inflammation, such as systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), interstitial cystitis, and multiple sclerosis.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is another symptom of too much inflammation in the body. GERD is a digestive disorder causing acid stomach juices, food, or fluids to back up from the stomach to the esophagus, the hollow, muscular tube that moves foods and fluids from the throat to the stomach.
According to a study reported in 2016 reported by the Journal of the American Association (JAMA), GERD could be part of the body’s natural inflammatory response. Unfortunately, this response leads to damage of the esophagus.
Ongoing digestive issues can affect your quality of life. If you are consistently experiencing digestive troubles, make an appointment with your healthcare provider. It might help to write down all your symptoms and what triggers them. The more information you can share with your healthcare provider, the easier it will be to narrow down a diagnosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one such inflammatory disease that affects balance. This is because MS causes inflammation in parts of the brain responsible for processing balance.
Further, any inflammatory condition—like an autoimmune disease—that causes vision, inner ear, and sensory problems can also alter balance. You should contact your healthcare provider any time you notice changes to your balance or gait (the way you walk).
Symptoms of high blood sugar include increased thirst, headaches, trouble concentrating, blurred vision, frequent urination, fatigue, and weight loss. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are consistently experiencing one or more of these symptoms, as persistent high blood sugar can cause serious complications.
A blood clot of the heart or lung could cause chest pain, shortness of breath, or upper body discomfort. A blood clot in the brain causes headaches, problems understanding speech, trouble speaking, and inability to move. A blood clot in the deep veins will cause pain, redness, warmth, and swelling in one or both lower legs.
Contact your healthcare provider if you experience very dry eyes, blurry vision, burning or stinging of the eyes, a gritty feeling in one or both eyes, sensitivity to light, discomfort wearing contacts, or inflamed eyelids.
Your healthcare provider can prescribe treatments to ease symptoms and reduce your risk vision loss and other serious eye complications.
Research shows inflammation might be responsible for the mental sluggishness associated with chronic inflammatory diseases. If inflammation is left unchecked, it can be just as debilitating as the disease that has caused the inflammation.
Treatment for chronic inflammation can resolve cognitive issues. Inflammation can also be managed by making healthy diet choices. Diet changes can improve energy, overall health, and other symptoms caused by ongoing inflammation.
Medications, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes can manage chronic inflammation. You should also do what you can manage to stressors and avoid smoking and excess alcohol consumption to reduce your risk.
