Temporal arteritis
Overview
Temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis) is where the arteries, particularly those at the side of the head (the temples), become inflamed. It's serious and needs urgent treatment.
Symptoms
The symptoms of temporal arteritis depend on which arteries are affected. The main symptoms are: frequent, severe headachespain or tenderness at the side of your head (temples) or on the scalpjaw pain while eating or talkingvision problems, such asdouble visionor loss of vision in 1 or both eyes More general symptoms are also common – for example, flu-like symptoms, unintentional weight loss, depression and tiredness. Some people with temporal arteritis also developpolymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). This causes pain, stiffness and inflammation in the muscles around the shoulders, neck and hips.
Treatment
Temporal arteritis is treated withsteroid medicine, usuallyprednisolone. Treatment will be started before temporal arteritis is confirmed because of the risk of vision loss if it's not dealt with quickly. There are 2 stages of treatment: An initial high dose of steroids for a few weeks to help bring your symptoms under control.A lower steroid dose (after your symptoms have improved) given over a longer period of time, possibly several years. A small number of people may need to take steroids for the rest of their life. You'll have regular follow-ups to see how you're doing and check for any side effects you may have. Do not suddenly stop taking steroids unless your doctor tells you to. Stopping a prescribed course of medicine could make you very ill. You may also need to take other types of medicine if you have temporal arteritis, including: low-dose aspirin– to reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack, which can happen if the arteries to your heart are affectedproton pump inhibitors (PPIs)– to lower your risk of getting a stomach problem like indigestion or astomach ulcer, which can be a side effect of taking prednisolonebisphosphonate therapy– to reduce the risk ofosteoporosiswhen taking prednisoloneimmunosuppressants– to allow steroid medicine to be reduced and help prevent temporal arteritis coming back