pulmonary in nature and include cough, difficulty breathing, and chest pain (which can range from a vague tightness to severe pain mimicking a heart attack). People may also experience fever, weakness, fatigue, and/or weight loss.
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How is sarcoidosis treated?
Treatment is usually guided by symptoms, particularly worsening symptoms, such as shortness of breath or cough. Another cause for treatment would be decreasing pulmonary function even in the absence of pulmonary symptoms.
Steroids are the most typical treatment for sarcoid. In some cases inhaled or topical steroids may be sufficient to control mild disease, but in some cases, oral steroids are required.
Alternatives to steroids include the drugs methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, and hydroxychloroquine. In addition, some success has been had using the TNF inhibitors that were originally developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (but which are also effective for many inflammatory disorders including psoriasis and Crohn’s disease), which include Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade.
All the drugs mentioned in this paragraph have significant potential for side effects, including infections, and their use must be monitored carefully.
Thankfully, the prognosis of sarcoidosis is typically positive. Many patients are asymptomatic and need no treatment. For some, the disease either resolves on its own or does not progress. Some have a more protracted or chronic course requiring treatment, but, barring complications, sarcoid is not usually a fatal illness.
BDO’s Black History of Health series is designed to show the correlation between the health of historical Black figures and Black Americans today. Many of the health disparities we currently experience have been in our community for centuries. This series is meant to bring these conditions to the forefront and provide blacks with preventative and management steps to reduce these disparities and improve the overall health of the Black American community. It’s time to change the narrative.