Sjogren’s syndrome is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease mainly involving the exocrine glands. Its treatment and management after recovery are very important for the quality of life and in stable condition of patients.
Treatment:
● Topical treatment:
Oral care: Dry mouth is a common symptom in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome, and it is particularly important to keep the mouth clean. Patients should stop smoking and drinking, and avoid taking drugs that cause dry mouth. Use fluoride toothpaste to brush teeth daily, remove food residues with toothpicks after meals, and rinse your mouth regularly to reduce the risk of dental caries and secondary oral infections. Substitutes such as artificial saliva can alleviate the symptoms of dry mouth to a certain extent and increase the wetness of the mouth.
Eye care: For dry eye symptoms, use artificial tear drops to keep the cornea moist and avoid corneal damage. Severe patients can also use eye masks or wet chamber mirrors to reduce the evaporation of corneal moisture and relieve dry eye discomfort.
● Systemic treatment:
Drug therapy: When patients with Sjogren’s syndrome have extrasalivary gland manifestations such as arthritis, interstitial lung disease, liver, kidney and nerve, they need to use glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants and other drugs for systematic treatment. For example, hydroxychloroquine can regulate immunity and has a certain effect on improving tear and saliva secretion; for more severe patients, glucocorticoids such as methylprednisolone may be used to inhibit immune inflammation. Biological agents, such as anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab, can inhibit the production of B cells and have a good effect on some patients.
Symptomatic treatment: If the patient has acute hypokalemia, intravenous potassium supplementation should be carried out in time, and oral potassium salt tablets should be taken after the condition is stable. Some patients may need lifelong potassium supplementation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as celecoxib, can relieve symptoms such as muscle and joint pain.
Post-recovery management:
● Regular review: Sjogren’s syndrome is a chronic condition that requires long-term treatment and monitoring. Patients should be reexamined regularly according to the doctor’s advice, including blood routine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, immunoglobulin, liver and kidney function, so as to timely understand the changes in the condition and adjust the treatment plan.
● Lifestyle adjustment:
Reasonable work and rest: maintain regular work and rest, ensure adequate sleep, avoid overwork, help to improve the body’s immunity, promote the stability of the disease.
Moderate exercise: Proper exercise, such as walking, yoga, Tai Chi, can enhance physical fitness, relieve stress, but to avoid strenuous exercise, in order to avoid excessive fatigue.
Dietary regulation: Patients should drink more water, eat more food rich in water and vitamins, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid spicy and stimulating food.
● Psychological support: Suffering from the disease for a long time, patients may have psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. Therefore, it is very important to give patients appropriate psychological support, family and friends should pay more attention to and encourage patients, and patients themselves should maintain a positive and optimistic attitude in order to better cope with the disease.
In conclusion, the treatment of Sjogren’s syndrome requires comprehensive consideration of the specific conditions of patients and individualized treatment. At the same time, prognosis management is also of great significance for the stability of the disease and the prevention of recurrence. Patients should actively cooperate with doctors in treatment and management to improve the quality of life.
