| Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, multi system, and | | | | it. Many of the people that have rheumatoid arthritis will |
| inflammatory autoimmune disorder that will bring on an | | | | also have anemia. Anemia is a problem of the red |
| attack to the joints. It is a very crippling and painful | | | | blood cells because there are not enough of them and |
| condition that can lead to loss of mobility to the pain | | | | or the hemoglobin and this will cause the lower ability |
| and joint devastation. Rheumatoid arthritis is systemic | | | | of oxygen to be taken to the tissues. It is a chronic |
| and will also affect different tissues through the body, | | | | disease and many will suffer from it and splenomegaly |
| skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs and muscles. | | | | or the enlarging of the spleen. Felty's syndrome and |
| Rheumatoid arthritis will affect anyone between the | | | | Sjogren's syndrome which is an autoimmune disorder |
| ages of 20 and 40 and can start anytime. A family | | | | in which the cells attack and ruin the exocrine glands |
| history is important to the risk. It is three times more | | | | and produce salvia and tears. Dermological will affect |
| common in women than in men and up to four times | | | | nodules on exterior surfaces. Fibrosis may occur in the |
| more common in smokers than non-smokers. | | | | lungs at any time or as a result of different treatments. |
| The symptoms will separate rheumatoid arthritis from | | | | There are several things for diagnosing rheumatoid |
| other types of arthritis because of the inflammation | | | | arthritis. Having stiffness in the morning that goes on |
| and soft tissue swelling of many joints at the same | | | | for longer than one hour is an example as is the |
| time. This is known as polyarthritis. The joints are | | | | arthritis and soft tissue swelling of more than three out |
| usually affected asymmetrically and then will go on to | | | | of 14 joints or in the joint groups. Arthritis of hand joints |
| the symmetrical part as the disease goes on. It is not | | | | like symmetric arthritis, subcutaneous nodules in |
| like the other forms of arthritis like osteoarthrits | | | | specific places, a rheumatoid factor at a level above |
| because the pain will move with the use of the joints | | | | the 95th place and radiological changes that are |
| that are affected. | | | | suggested of joint erosion and are part of the criteria. |
| As the disease goes on, the inflammatory activity will | | | | There are at least four of these things hat have to be |
| lead to the erosion and destruction of the joints that will | | | | met in order to establish a diagnoses. |
| impair their range of movement and lead to some | | | | The treatments for rheumatoid arthritis are going to be |
| deformity. The fingers and the bones will deviate to | | | | placed in disease modifying antirheumatic drugs or |
| the outside and towards the small finger and take on | | | | (DMARDS), anti inflammatory agents and analgesics. |
| unnatural shapes. Having deformities in patients that | | | | DMARDS is known to start durable remissions and |
| are dealing with rheumatoid arthritis will include the | | | | delay the disease process, prevent bone and joint |
| Boutonnière deformity, the swan neck deformity, and | | | | damage as well. Anti inflammatory agents and |
| the "Z-thumb" deformity. | | | | analgesics can help to improve pain and stiffness but |
| Because rheumatoid arthritis is a multisystem disease, | | | | do not stop any damage or slow down the disease in |
| other disease and conditions may form as a result of | | | | any way. |