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Arth- means joint and –itis means inflammation. Rheumatoid Arthritis involves inflammation in the
lining of joints which causes warmth, low mobility, swelling and pain in the joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease of the immune system, the system that normally protects your body against foreign invaders such as bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Your immune system protects your body in many ways. One of the most basic is the use of inflammation-the increase of blood and immune cells to a threatened part of the body. Inflammation is your body's natural response when bosy had received tissue damage from injury or infection. In Rheumatoid Arthritis, the immune system attacks the lining of your joints.
Rheumatoid Arthritis develops acutely within weeks or may take months to develop, affecting small
joints of the body. The onset of the disease could be between the ages of 25 and
50 years old. Females are affected three times as compared to males. It often occurs
later in life for men than women. However, anyone can get Rhematoid Arthritis, including children.
When this occurs in children it is known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA).
The symptoms and course of Rheumatoid Arthritis varies from patient to patient and the symptoms change
day by day. Rheumatoid Arthritis could be mild in some people with periods of activity called flairs
and in some people it is continuously active and gets worse over time. It can cause
the patient to feel sick all over, especially during flairs. Some might develop
rheumatoid nodules, which are lumps of tissue that form under the skin. Often these
occur over boney areas exposed to pressure.
| | | | What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis? | | | | Potential Consequences Of Rheumatoid Arthritis | | | You can find more information about RheumatoidArthritis by clicking the link below:
http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/ra_new.asp?aud=pat | | | |
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