Polyarthritis
Inflammation of multiple joints (more than 5) is known as polyarthritis. It may be acute or chronic and caused by many factors such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, SLE, cancer, sarcoidosis, certain infections like chikungunya etc.
Vatashonita in Ayurveda is a condition characterised by pain and swelling of multiple joints which may be acute (Utthana) or chronic (Gambheera) in nature. Small joints are affected first, and then other joints are also involved. Vata and rakta are vitiated here to develop the disease.
The etiological factors of vatashonita are intake of vidahi ahara (food items that cause burning sensation in stomach during or after digestion), viruddha ahara (incompatible food), food items that cause vitiation of blood (eg: very hot food, sour food, fermented food etc); altered sleep habits; trauma; dietary and behavioural practices that vitiate vata (eg: eating cold/ dry/ light food, travelling a lot, exposure to cold and wind) etc. Those who are living a sedentary lifestyle and with delicate body are prone to develop vatashonita. Common features include discolouration of skin, excessive or reduced sweating, fatigue, loose joints, pain/ itching/ tingling sensation/ heaviness/ numbness over knee/ ankles/ hip/ thighs/ shoulders/ arms etc, which recur frequently with episodes of relief.
Chronic cases may result in severe pain, difficulty to perform day-to-day activities, poor quality of life, depression, and damage of other organs like eye (dry eyes, scleritis etc), skin (eg: rashes), lungs (eg: shortness of breath) etc.