Arthritis caused due to infection is often triggered by some kind of germ – it could be some bacteria, fungus or virus. The joints are infected after the germ invades the body and finds enough room for survival.
When an infection strokes, any of the three joints – hips, knees or shoulders can be affected. It might as well involve the small finger joints and the ankles too.
Infectious arthritis is not very common, but it can occur to anyone. There is no specific age for developing this disease. However, there are some people who are vulnerable to infectious arthritis, such as the ones having certain ailments like diabetes, severe kidney problems, sickle-cell anemia, AIDS, immune deficiency and cancer.
The bacteria that commonly cause arthritis are gonococcus, staphylococcus, streptococcus, pneumococcus, haemophilus, tuberculosis and spirochetes.
There are certain viruses that can cause infectious arthritis, such as mumps virus, infectious mononucleosis and infectious hepatitis.
As there is no such treatment, infectious arthritis goes untreated most of the times. However, there are certain medications, antibiotics, exercises and hot/cold therapies that can relieve the symptoms of the condition and protect your joints from degeneration. |