What diseases does the rheumatology and immunology department treat

The rheumatology and immunology department is mainly suitable for the elderly. Many elderly people will develop diseases that doctors cannot understand when they reach a certain age. Even though the family went to many departments, they couldn't find out what was wrong with the patient. In fact, you need to see a rheumatologist at this time. This word may be unfamiliar to ordinary people, but understanding it will be of great help to friends who have elderly people at home. Let’s take a look at the following content.

1. Orthopedics

When talking about rheumatism, most people think of "joint pain" and "arthritis". Indeed, joint pain is the most common and most common symptom of rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Almost every rheumatic autoimmune disease can cause joint pain symptoms. Patients with joint pain symptoms usually go to the rheumatology department for treatment in a timely manner. In the inherent concept of many people, rheumatism is related to cold and humid environment, and is more common in rural women and women who often do housework. In fact, this is not the case. A type of spinal joint disease represented by "ankylosing spondylitis" is a common rheumatic disease in men, with pain and discomfort in the lower back and back as the main symptoms. Many patients with ankylosing spondylitis receive long-term orthopedic treatment and follow-up, but when they develop persistent fever and red and swollen eyes, they don’t know that the source is “rheumatism”.

2. Vascular Medicine

Raynaud's phenomenon is a common symptom of rheumatic autoimmune diseases, characterized by fingers turning white or purple when exposed to cold. There are quite a few patients who have Raynaud's phenomenon as the first symptom, especially in winter. Many patients do not pay attention to this symptom. Even if there are patients who go to the hospital for treatment, they often go to the vascular surgery clinic and then be referred to the rheumatology department by the surgeon. Patients with Raynaud's phenomenon may suffer from severe skin ulcers that do not heal for a long time and may eventually have to have their fingers amputated. However, because there is no effective drug treatment for the source of rheumatism, other fingers may "repeat the same mistakes", develop ulcers one after another, and finally have to be amputated.

3. Difficult and complicated diseases

For patients with unclear diagnosis, a hospital-wide consultation is held, and the rheumatology and immunology department is almost always mentioned. Why? The clinical manifestations of rheumatic autoimmune diseases are so diverse and complex that it can be said that "there is nothing it can't do, as long as you can think of it."