About reactive arthritis---

Hello Cynthia

Thank you for writing.

For the benefit of our readers, Reactive arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disorder triggered by an infection, usually of the genitourinary or gastrointestinal tract. When the infection is a sexually transmitted disease, inflammation of the urethra or cervix is one of the symptoms. Pain in the joints of one or both legs and feet occurs in 95% of cases. Eye inflammation occurs in 30% of cases.

We do not have information about TreMedici Calypso on this site.

As you mentioned, turmeric has been used traditionally to treat the pain of arthritis because of its ability to reduce inflammation. It has been used for centuries as part of Ayuvedic medicine and is used frequently by Indian cultures for medicinal purposes, rather than just as a food flavoring.

Researchers believe that the curcumin it contains works by shutting down the protein that causes the inflammatory response in the body. Gregory Cole, a professor of Medicine and Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has conducted several studies on the spice, and says

“There is a need for better, safer drugs to treat inflammatory conditions. If it is not curcumin, we need something a lot like curcumin — something cheap and safe with a long history of use, and no side effects.”

As more than 21 million American adults suffer from arthritis, this is very important. Turmeric can be taken as a spice with food, or in tablet form of between 500-1,000mgs daily.

Detoxing the Body

Your next step, once your pain is under control, is to detox your body. Nutritionalist Wendy Satterthwaite recommends the following herbs to flush out the kidneys:

Garlic
Uva ursi
Tannins
Ginger
Oregano
Also be sure to drink plenty of water!

Immune System Support

To re-build your compromised immune system and strengthen it to avoid future attacks of reactive arthritis, you should have a daily dose of probiotics. Probiotics line the gut with friendly bacteria, which has often been depleted after illness. Friendly bacteria help your immune system by eating up the bad bacteria in your gut.

A recent study in the journal Pediatrics, found that children who were given probiotics, were protected against illnesses. "Daily dietary probiotic supplementation for 6 months was a safe effective way to reduce fever, rhinorrhea, and cough incidence and duration and antibiotic prescription incidence, as well as the number of missed school days attributable to illness, for children three to five years of age." As it can reduce illness, it should also reduce the number of possible triggers for reactive arthritis. The same can be said for adults.

Please contact your husbands health care team to know if the regime you are on may help your husband. Even natural treatments can have side effects. You can also check to see if there are clinical trials that offer treatment for little to no cost.

We wish you and your husband the best.
Susan