There are two forms of Reiter’s syndrome or reactive arthritis such as one that occurs due to sexually transmitted infections including Chlamydial infection and other caused due to the gastro-intestinal infection such Salmonellosis or Shigellosis. Various organs including joints, eyes, skin, genitals and mucus membrane get inflamed by this disorder. The treatment for Reiter’s syndrome depends upon which body part is affected and it is treated accordingly.

It is recommended to consult different specialists as Reiter’s syndrome involves various organs in the body and it is helpful to manage the treatment plan. You may go to the ophthalmologist for the treatment of conjunctivitis, rheumatologist for the treatment of arthritis, urologists to treat the urogenital symptoms in men, dermatologist to treat the skin problems and gynecologist for the treatment of urogenital symptoms in women.

Though Reiter’s syndrome cannot be cured completely, the goal of treatment for Reiter’s syndrome is to relieve the inflammation and reduce the symptoms. Before starting any treatment, the doctor first takes complete medical history of the patient which includes previous illness or injuries, allergies to specific drugs and other medical conditions. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, tolmetin (Tolectin), piroxicam (Feldene), indomethacin (Indocin) and aspirin are effective to reduce the joint inflammation due to Reiter’s syndrome.

In addition, corticosteroids including prednisone may be effective to decrease the inflammation and also found to be useful to reduce the tendon inflammation in some types of tendinitis. They can be given orally or injected into the joint and these injections are most frequently applied to cure severe ankle or knee inflammation.

Use of topical corticosteroid is another effective medicine for the treatment for Reiter’s syndrome which can be directly applied on the skin lesions caused due to the Reiter’s syndrome. This medicine can help to decrease an inflammation and enhance healing. Besides this, sulfasalazine (Azulfadine) are found to be effective in some people with persistent Reiter’s syndrome. In few cases of Reiter’s syndrome, there may be chronic aggressive joint inflammation. In such cases, the medication which suppresses the immune system such as methotrexate is found to be effective.

As the bacterial infections can trigger the Reiter’s syndrome, antibiotics are prescribed by the doctor to eliminate these infections. The antibiotic to be used for the treatment is decided on the basis of a type of infection. In addition, anti-inflammatory drops are used to treat the eye inflammation. Some people with severe iritis may need the cortisone shots to prevent the damaging inflammation of eye. Besides this, the inflammation around penis can be treated using the cortisone creams like Topicort.

Other than these medications, there are some other advantageous treatment options for Reiter’s syndrome. Some gentle range-of-motion and strengthening exercises are beneficial to maintain or improve the joint functions, to build up the muscles, decrease the stiffness and improve the flexibility of joints. Besides this treatment option, short-term bed rest is advantageous to reduce the inflammation and pain of arthritis.