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Viral arthritis - Treatment

Treatment:

Your doctor may prescribe pain medicines to relieve discomfort.

If joint inflammation is severe, aspiration of fluid from the affected joint may relieve pain.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outcome is usually good. Most viral arthritis disappears within several days or weeks when the virus-related disease goes away.

Complications:

There are usually no complications.

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if arthritis symptoms last longer than a few weeks.

Reviewed last on: 9/17/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, Phd, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Sargent JS. Polyarticular arthritis. In: Harris Ed, Budd Rc, Genovese MC, Firestein GS, Sargent JS, Sledge CB, eds. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2005: chap 35.

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