What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is what doctors call an autoimmune condition. It starts when your immune system, which is supposed to protect you, goes awry and begins to attack your body’s tissues. It causes inflammation in the lining of your joints. As a result, your joints may get red, warm, swollen, and painful.
RA affects joints on both sides of the body, such as both hands, both wrists, or both knees. This symmetry helps to set it apart from other types of arthritis. Over time, RA can affect other body parts and systems, from your eyes to your heart, lungs, skin, blood vessels, and more.
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
This condition also is called juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or JIA. It causes swollen and stiff joints in children 16 or younger. If joint pain and stiffness last 6 weeks or longer, that may be JIA.
Idiopathic means “unknown.” Experts aren’t sure what causes JIA. They think some children are born with a gene that makes them more likely to get JIA. Then something – such as a virus or bacteria – sets off the immune system. Researchers don’t believe it’s related to allergies, food, or poor diet.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a lifelong condition. Like RA, JIA is an autoimmune condition. But kids sometimes outgrow JIA. However, it can affect bone growth, which can have longer-term consequences.
There are several types of JIA.
Oligoarthritis. This is the most common type of JIA. It affects four or more joints and usually strikes larger joints such as knees, ankles, and elbows.
Polyarthritis. When you have this type, five or more joints are affected, often on the same side of the body. About a quarter of children with JIA have this type.
Systemic. About 10% of children with JIA get this type, which affects skin and internal organs as well as joints. Symptoms can include a fever above 103 F that lasts 2 weeks or more and a rash.
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This type affects joints and also causes a scaly rash. The rash often appears on the eyelids, knees, belly button, and scalp or behind the ears. Wrists, ankles, fingers, and toes are some of the joints that might be affected.
Enthesitis-related. Another name for this type is spondyloarthritis. It hits areas where muscles, ligaments, and tendons attach to bone. Hips, knees, and feet are the most common spots affected, but any joint can be involved. It also can affect the digestive tract. It’s more common in boys and generally starts between the ages of 8 and 15.
Undifferentiated. Doctors use this label when it’s clear that at least one joint is inflamed, but other symptoms don’t match up with the other types.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
The warning signs of RA are:
- Joint pain and swelling
- Stiffness, especially in the morning or after you sit for a long time
Rheumatoid arthritis affects everyone differently. For some, joint symptoms happen gradually over several years. In others, it may come on quickly.
Some people may have rheumatoid arthritis for a short time and then go into remission, which means they don’t have symptoms.
Early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
Your joints might be tender and painful, even though you don’t see redness or swelling. The first joints affected might be smaller ones, such as where your fingers attach to your hand and your toes to your feet.
Rheumatoid arthritis rash
RA can affect your skin as well as your joints. You might get firm lesions, called nodules, on your body. Another skin symptom is called vasculitis. One symptom of RA vasculitis is pits developing in your fingernails. Vasculitis also can cause a rash that might be raised or flat. It might look like bruises. The rash doesn’t go away when you press on it. It often affects knees and lower legs.
Unusual symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
RA can affect your entire body. Beyond painful and swollen joints, you might experience:
- Fatigue
- Low-grade fever
- Dry, sensitive eyes
- Dry mouth and gum irritation or infection
- Shortness of breath
- Low red blood cell count
- Damage to your heart muscle