Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that attacks the joints in the body, causing inflammation and pain. It can affect anyone at any age. Children are no exception to rheumatoid arthritis. In children, this chronic disease is called as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and it also causes inflamed and stiff joints.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects children below the age of 16. Unlike the rheumatoid arthritis of adults, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a group of several diseases. The only common characteristic of the adult and child rheumatoid arthritis is the “inflammation of joints and pain”.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a collective disease. The three identified forms are pauciarticular, polyarticular and systemic. In pouciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a child may suffer from inflammation in few joints such as the knee and shoulder. If it is polyarticular, then many joints get inflamed simultaneously, for example knees, wrists, elbows, and so on. Polyarticular rheumatoid arthritis attacks symmetrically; for example, the joints of the left and right hand become inflammation at the same time.

There are three major types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and it usually takes 6 months to determine the type a child suffers from. These three types are: Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; Polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

The cause of the disease is unknown, even in the case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The child complaining of joint pain is often examined to confirm for rheumatoid arthritis. The symptoms include difficulty to get up after sitting down, pain in the mornings while waking up-everything that is caused by the stiffness and swelling of the joints. They are also asked for a family history of rheumatoid arthritis. Once the disease is suspected, preliminary tests are conducted to understand the intensity of the disease. On the basis of the test results, the child is given treatment and medication. While some have an easy recovery, others suffer from more complicated symptoms. Sometimes, in some children, the symptoms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis remain dormant for a period of time. It may suddenly emerge or “flare up” when the child least expects it.

Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis refers to a form of the disease that tends to affect four or less joints. Pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include selling, stiffness, discomfort or severe pain around the afflicted joints. Most often, pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis affects the joints of the wrist and knee. A key distinguishing feature of pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is that it may also affect the eyes. The iris may become inflamed. In most cases, ophthalmologists are often among the first to diagnose cases of pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Systematic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis refers to the fact that the disease may sometimes affect the whole body. This happens when the immune system becomes weakened by the disease. Children afflicted with systematic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis may experience fevers, rashes, in addition to the feelings of joint stiffness and overall pain and discomfort. Other symptoms that are specific to the systematic form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis include the enlargement of the lymph nodes and the spleen.

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