Inflammation Treatment in West Lafayette, IN

Inflammation is your body's way of protecting itself from invaders and pathogens that could harm your body. It could be easy to mistake inflammation for infection but it's quite the opposite. Infection is caused by bacteria, virus or fungus and inflammation is your body's response to these invaders.

The process of inflammation is a complex series of events triggered by your immune system and while it's designed to help protect your body it can trigger a cycle of long-term (chronic) inflammation. contact Charles Turner MD online today to find out more about inflammation: call (765) 259-0545

Stages of Inflammation

When an injury or illness strikes, your body usually responds with inflammation. Without it, you would never heal. To help you visualize how inflammation works, let's imagine you have an injury to your knee. Within just a few moments the site will start to swell, and may be slightly red and warm. This is a normal response as your body sends in extra blood and a variety of different cells to protect the injured structures and tissues.

Over time, you may have some pus or drainage that leaves an injury. This can be normal and may not always mean that you have a more serious infection but to make sure, seek medical attention if you see large amounts of pus or drainage coming from an injury.

Short-term inflammation (acute inflammation) to areas near the surface of the skin has five common signs.

• Pain
• Redness
• Immobility
• Swelling
• Heat

Chronic inflammation lasts longer and has been linked to a variety of medical conditions. Chronic inflammation can last months or years as your body works to eliminate a trigger that an acute response could not clear, or your body may mistake its own healthy tissues as an invader. Higher levels of chronic inflammation have been linked to a variety of conditions including:

• Heart disease
• Obesity
• Asthma
• Peptic ulcers
• Hepatitis
• Lupus
• Crohn's Disease
• Fibromyalgia and many others

Treating Inflammation

Not all types of inflammation should be stopped. Acute inflammation is designed to help tissues heal and suppressing the response with medications may not always be the right choice. Talk to your medical provider for help deciding how to manage a sudden case.

For chronic inflammation, your doctor may use a variety of medications and lifestyle approaches to control your symptoms. This may include:

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen or naproxen
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Corticosteroids
• Fish oil supplements
• Hyssop supplements
• Green tea
• Weight loss and more

Doctors are still studying inflammation and are not entirely sure what causes the response in some people. Traditional medications, herbs, or other supplements may be used to control your inflammation. Remember to never mix any herbal supplements with your medications without permission from your medical team.

Schedule your Inflammation Evaluation Today

Find out if your inflammation is normal or needs attention. contact Charles Turner MD online today at (765) 259-0545 to learn more.