Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects your whole body especially your joints.
Common symptoms of RA include:
- joint pain and swelling
- stiffness
- tiredness (fatigue), depression, irritability
- anaemia
- flu-like symptoms, feeling ill and hot
Less common symptoms include:
- weight loss
- inflammation in the eyes
- rheumatoid nodules
- inflammation of other body parts, eg lungs and blood vessels and membrane around your heart, but this is rare.
RA varies from one person to another but it usually starts quite slowly. A few joints – often your fingers, wrists or the balls of your feet – become uncomfortable and may swell, often intermittently. You may also feel stiff when you wake up in the morning.
For about 1 in 5 of those with rheumatoid arthritis the condition develops very rapidly, with pain and swelling in a lot of joints, severe morning stiffness and great difficulty doing everyday tasks.
If you have painful, swollen joints and stiffness in the morning that lasts for longer than half an hour, you should see your doctor. Research shows that the sooner you start treatment for RA, the more effective it’s likely to be, so early diagnosis is important.
I have Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis as my symptoms started when I was 15. Arthritis that starts before you are 16 years old is classified as Juvenile even when you are now an adult. Idiopathic means that the cause is unknown. it is generally reckoned that genetics and infection have a role in it. Arthritis refers to one or more of your joints being inflamed (i.e. they’re swollen, painful and stiff, and you may not be able to move them as far as
normal). I am fortunate that after many years of bodged diagnoses, which has left me with permanent joint and ligament damage, my RA is now under fairly good control. I take a cocktail of regular anti-inflammatories, anti-TNF (sometimes called 'biologics') injections and occasional steroids and codeine.
For more information about Arthritis,
Arthritis Reasearch UK http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/
National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society http://www.nras.org.uk/
Common symptoms of RA include:
- joint pain and swelling
- stiffness
- tiredness (fatigue), depression, irritability
- anaemia
- flu-like symptoms, feeling ill and hot
Less common symptoms include:
- weight loss
- inflammation in the eyes
- rheumatoid nodules
- inflammation of other body parts, eg lungs and blood vessels and membrane around your heart, but this is rare.
RA varies from one person to another but it usually starts quite slowly. A few joints – often your fingers, wrists or the balls of your feet – become uncomfortable and may swell, often intermittently. You may also feel stiff when you wake up in the morning.
For about 1 in 5 of those with rheumatoid arthritis the condition develops very rapidly, with pain and swelling in a lot of joints, severe morning stiffness and great difficulty doing everyday tasks.
If you have painful, swollen joints and stiffness in the morning that lasts for longer than half an hour, you should see your doctor. Research shows that the sooner you start treatment for RA, the more effective it’s likely to be, so early diagnosis is important.
I have Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis as my symptoms started when I was 15. Arthritis that starts before you are 16 years old is classified as Juvenile even when you are now an adult. Idiopathic means that the cause is unknown. it is generally reckoned that genetics and infection have a role in it. Arthritis refers to one or more of your joints being inflamed (i.e. they’re swollen, painful and stiff, and you may not be able to move them as far as
normal). I am fortunate that after many years of bodged diagnoses, which has left me with permanent joint and ligament damage, my RA is now under fairly good control. I take a cocktail of regular anti-inflammatories, anti-TNF (sometimes called 'biologics') injections and occasional steroids and codeine.
For more information about Arthritis,
Arthritis Reasearch UK http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/
National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society http://www.nras.org.uk/
