Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Causes of occurrence

The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are still unknown.

However, the following factors can provoke the onset of the disease:

Hypothermia, viral respiratory diseases, tonsillitis;

Joint injuries;

Consequences: after repeated infections, immune cells are unable to respond to microorganisms and viruses remaining after an infectious disease;

Prolonged anxiety, constant stressful situations;

Hereditary tendency to the disease.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

A disease such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is characteristic of children under 16 years of age. The disease has an inflammatory nature and makes every movement of the joints painful.

The duration of such a disease is more than 6 weeks. In addition, juvenile arthritis is known as Still's disease - a chronic course of arthritis in children and chronic polyarthritis of juveniles.

The first signs of juvenile arthritis

The characteristic features of this disease are the following symptoms:

Pain in the joints;

Swelling in the affected joint;

Stiffness when moving.

These symptoms are worse in the morning or after a short sleep. However, taking into account all these factors, even young children do not complain of such suffering. Symptoms of this disease can be fever, loss of appetite and weight loss. There are cases when a rash appears on the limbs. In some cases, an increase in lymph nodes occurs.

Juvenile arthritis can inhibit growth. It happens that the joints affected by this disease grow at different speeds. Because of this, the hands and feet of children may differ from each other.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

Usually, the disease begins with symptoms such as inflammation of the joints of the fingers and wrists. The joints are equally affected on the left and right hands.

The following signs of arthritis are distinguished:

1. Joint pain, pain, which is most pronounced at night and in the morning;

2. Joint stiffness that does not stop within an hour;

3. High body temperature, insomnia;

4. Increased fatigue, numbness, loss of appetite, weight loss.

Extra-articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis

In many cases, the disease is the main symptom, but many patients also develop a number of extra-articular symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

General condition (weakness, fatigue, weight loss, subfebrile body temperature);

Lungs (pleurisy, nodules, interstitial fibrosis);

Heart and vessels (pericarditis, vasculitis, "early" atherosclerosis);

Ophthalmology (keratoconjunctivitis sicca, scleritis, scleromalacia);

Neurology (compression neuropathy, symmetric neuropathy, multiple mononeuritis, cervical myelitis);

Kidneys (amyloidosis, renal tubular acidosis, interstitial neuritis);

Hematopoiesis (anemia, thrombocytosis, neutropenia, hepatosplenomegaly).