Temporal arteritis is a serious condition where the arteries at the side of your head (the temples) become inflamed.
The main symptoms of temporal arteritis are headaches, pain over your temples, jaw pain and sight problems.
Temporal arteritis is usually treated with steroid medicine. Treatment should begin as soon as possible to prevent sight loss.
The main symptoms of temporal arteritis are headaches, pain over your temples, jaw pain and sight problems.
The symptoms of temporal arteritis depend on which arteries are affected.
The main symptoms are:
More general symptoms are also common – for example, flu-like symptoms, unintentional weight loss, depression and tiredness.
About 2 in 5 people with temporal arteritis also develop polymyalgia rheumatica. This causes pain, stiffness and inflammation in the muscles around the shoulders, neck and hips.
Temporal arteritis is usually treated with steroid medicine. Treatment should begin as soon as possible to prevent sight loss.
Temporal arteritis is treated with steroid medicine, usually prednisolone.
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:
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.