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Thank you for your interest in the Natural Medicine approach to treating disease and healthy living! Caring Medical is currently a full time Prolotherapy doctor's office, headed by Ross Hauser, MD and we are blessed to fill the needs of patients seeking an alternative to surgery. We are accepting new patients and athletes suffering from chronic pain, sports injuries, and arthritis for treatment with Prolotherapy. Due to this large demand in Prolotherapy, we are not currently accepting new patients for natural medicine conditions, this includes autoimmune conditions, weight loss, menopause, hormones, or cancer. Through the years, we have seen so many lives turn around for the better with some of the methods discussed on this page, and encourage you to seek a Natural Medicine practitioner at www.acam.org.
Systemic sclerosis, more commonly called scleroderma, is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic degenerative changes, blood vessels abnormalities and scarring of skin, joints and internal organs. Women experience this disorder four times more often than men and it is rarely found in children. Mixed connective tissue disease may be part of systemic sclerosis.
How does systemic sclerosis develop?
This devastating chronic disease can damage large areas of the skin and organ tissues. As the immune system turns against the body to develop harmful antibodies, the skin becomes taut, shiny and dark. The skin on the face may tighten, resulting in stiffness and an inability to change facial expressions. Fingers, chest, face, lips and tongue can display spider veins or telangiectasia. Calcium bumps can develop on the fingers, joints and on other bony areas.
Often with systemic sclerosis, inflamed tissues rub and create a grating sound that can be heard at the elbow and knees. Scarring of the skin causes the fingers, wrists and elbows to become fixed in contracted or flexed positions. Fingertips and knuckles can develop sores.
In addition, as the disease progresses, the lower end of the esophagus may become damaged through scarring. When this happens, the esophagus no longer delivers food to the stomach efficiently, causing problems with swallowing and heartburn. In about a third of the cases, there is abnormal cell growth, which can increase the risk of esophageal blockage (Barrett's syndrome) or esophageal cancer. There can also be damage to the intestinal lining, creating problems with food digestion and contributing to weight loss. When scar tissue blocks the drainage system of the liver (biliary cirrhosis), liver damage and jaundice can result.
Systemic sclerosis also contributes to the accumulation of scar tissue in the lungs, which can have a negative effect on breathing during exercise. It can also cause dangerous heart abnormalities, including abnormal rhythms and heart failure, and kidney disease.
What are the symptoms of systemic sclerosis?
With systemic sclerosis, the ends of the fingers tend to swell and thicken. The fingers also may become very pale and tingle or become numb in response to an emotionally upsetting situation or cold temperatures. (This is known as Raynaud's phenomenon.) As the fingers warm up they tend to become blue.
Other symptoms include aches and pains in the joints, heartburn, difficulty swallowing and shortness of breath. Usually these symptoms appear in the later stages of the disease when there is damage of the esophagus, heart and lungs.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of systemic sclerosis but they do not address the root of the problem. Generally, by undergoing comprehensive natural medicine testing, the reasons the body is producing antibodies against itself can be found. Some of these reasons include sensitivities or allergies to foods, inhalants and chemicals and various infections.
Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat systemic sclerosis.
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