At some people, more often women, at survey small granulomas (accumulations of inflammatory cells) are found out in various organs. This disease is called sarcoidosis - the symptoms of the pathology are rarely expressed, the illness for a long time runs unnoticed and can even disappear on its own, without special therapy.
Symptoms and treatment of sarcoidosis
This ailment refers to systemic disorders. It affects, as a rule, lung tissue, but sometimes affects other organs - the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, heart.
Sarcoidosis is characterized by the formation of granulomas - dense nodules of small diameter, which are confined to the foci of the inflammatory process. These seals are provoked by an increase in the activity of white blood cells (lymphocytes).
Treatment of sarcoidosis is usually not required, because due to the increased work of the immune system, inflammatory foci are resolved on their own. In such cases, specialists recommend only regular monitoring. Other situations with severe or complicated course of the disease suggest corticosteroid hormone therapy. Therapy is carried out under the supervision of a phthisiatrician and a continuous study of organs affected by granulomas to monitor their condition and functionality.
Symptoms of sarcoidosis of the lungs
Most often, the respiratory system is subjected to sarcoidosis. In most cases, it does not have obvious signs and remains imperceptible to the patient.
Nonspecific symptoms of sarcoidosis:
- feeling of anxiety;
- permanent fatigue, malaise and weakness;
- weight loss;
- rare feverish conditions;
- loss of appetite;
- increased sweating at night;
- sleep disturbance.
With the lymphoagglutinous (intrathoracic) form of pathology, patients complain of additional manifestations:
- dyspnea;
- dry cough ;
- pain in the region of the chest, in the joints;
- wheezing;
- increased body temperature;
- percussion;
- the appearance of erythema nodosum.
The mediastinal-pulmonary form of sarcoidosis is characterized by the following features:
- severe shortness of breath with a painful cough;
- sometimes - hemoptysis;
- severe chest pain;
- Morozov-Yunling syndrome, Herford.
Symptoms of eye sarcoidosis
With the described variety of the disease, the sclera, tear gland, conjunctiva, retina, orbit, nerve endings are affected. As a rule, the main manifestations of sarcoidosis in this case are irit and iridocyclitis.
The main signs of the disease:
- photophobia;
- Pain in the eyes;
- low blood pressure in the eyeball;
- accumulation of exudate on the mucous membranes, lacrimation.
Severe course of sarcoidosis can lead to such complications:
- secondary glaucoma;
- cataract;
- complete or partial blindness;
- chorioretinitis;
- infiltration of the optic nerve with sarcoid elements;
- edema of the disc;
- uveitis ;
- keratoconjunctivitis.
Symptoms of skin sarcoidosis
This type of disease is called small-node sarcoidosis. Its manifestations are:
- education on the skin of the limbs, face, sometimes the trunk of dense hillocks;
- merge of elements;
- the color change of the seals from the pinkish-red to the cyanotic, brown hue;
- presence of brown spots of small size on the skin;
- rarely - ulceration of tubercles.
Symptoms of heart sarcoidosis
This type of pathology develops against the background of lung sarcoidosis. It is characterized by such symptoms as ventricular tachycardia and extrasystole, an increase in the size of the ventricles.
It is worth noting that sarcoidosis causes such complications only in 20-22% of cases, but when diagnosing the disease, it is necessary to consult a cardiologist.