One of the main problems with Psoriatic Arthritis symptoms is that they will often form at large intervals in time. The psoriasis is the most common symptom to signs first and sometime precedes the arthritis by years. Some cases have been reported of a 20 year interval between the forming of psoriasis and the arthritic symptoms. Once the arthritis forms it will usually affect the joints that are most used in your day to day life. Your knees, ankles and feet are especially susceptible as most people spend the majority of their day using them.

People who use their hands a lot can also find that the symptoms are common in the arms and hands. Swelling and stiffness are most common with other symptoms including the area become hot and red in color. If your fingers or toes are affected you can sometimes experience the entire digit become swollen to the point of giving you ‘sausage fingers’. This is extremely uncomfortable and often inconvenient as it will render the entire hand almost completely useless in some cases.

Symptoms can also sometimes mimic other forms of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the more common of mimicked forms as the swelling and pain becomes symmetrical in nature. In some cases the inflammation can spread to the spinal area which can then affect from your buttocks right up to your neck. There are also cases where the inflammation of the tendons becomes as severe as full blown tendonitis. This is why psoriatic arthritis symptoms are extremely hard to classify, they can take on many different forms and in rare cases can even become destructive to the joints in affected areas. It should be said that this is extremely rare though.

Less common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include such ailments as inflamed irises causing the patient to become more sensitive to light changes. The expansion and contraction of the iris becomes extremely painful and uncomfortable. In general any tendons in the body could be affected; this includes the tendons that join the ribs at the sternum. Sometimes the swelling will even be present in the organs, most susceptible would be the lungs, eyes and the aorta.

Up to 80% of patients affected with psoriatic arthritis will see a change in the skin in the form of acne and nails taking on a bumpy surface. The interesting fact in this information is that it is quite uncommon for those suffering with simply psoriasis to see these changes in their toenails and it is believed that this could in some way lead to possible early diagnosis. Going on prevention is better than cure mentality you would be able to hopefully prolong the onset of the arthritis.