| Nearly one out of three persons in the United States | | | | disease. |
| suffers from a joint disease. The more common type | | | | The inflammation of the joint usually lasts to as short |
| of arthritis that afflicts persons is rheumatoid arthritis. | | | | as a few minutes or continue to a number of years |
| Rheumatoid arthritis is a disabling joint disease where | | | | depending on the treatment. At the onset of the |
| chemical changes in the blood caused by inflammation | | | | disease, the tendons become shortened and the |
| have been found to take place. The inflammation is | | | | normal balance of the muscles is hampered. When the |
| believed to be produced by the body's auto-immune | | | | muscles are weakened they lose their strength. This is |
| immune system attacking itself. It damages the | | | | most evident in the inability to grip or make a tight fist |
| surrounding tissues like blood vessels, nerves, skin, | | | | among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the hands. |
| heart, muscles and lungs when the inflammation is left | | | | The stiffening of some parts of the body that build up |
| without immediate treatment. | | | | during time of rests or a night's sleep which gradually |
| Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms may start showing at | | | | disappears when the patient starts moving, is one of |
| an early age such as those seen in children suffering | | | | the most common rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. The |
| Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Most often, the symptom | | | | stiffness results from the muscular weakness caused |
| begins with sudden fever accompanied by a light rash | | | | by the disease. |
| that immediately disappears. And similar to adults, | | | | Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are most obvious in |
| persistent joint swelling, stiffness of the affected area | | | | the hands and feet. It also appears in other body joints |
| especially in the morning or after a day's rest are also | | | | such as elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, spine and |
| felt. | | | | ankles. Sometimes the jawbones are involved. Among |
| Unlike osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis symptoms may | | | | patients, the involvement of both joints on the two |
| show before the age of 45 among adults. It may start | | | | sides of the body and usually with the same pattern of |
| as part of a severe illness usually with high fever. | | | | development is due to the fact that the disease is |
| Sometimes the disease also develops in a subtle way | | | | symmetric. The symptoms may not come often to |
| without the patient noticing its occurrence until it is too | | | | some people but they generally appear and heighten |
| late. | | | | at periods of severe stress. |
| This happens when there is no amount of discomfort | | | | It is also possible that one might show symptoms of |
| felt except the apparent loss of appetite, decrease in | | | | rheumatoid arthritis but may actually be suffering from |
| weight and probably a mild fever. Often, without | | | | other specific types of arthritis. A related but separate |
| immediate treatment deformities have developed | | | | disease is the Ankylosing Spondylitis which shows |
| before the disease could be pointed out as the cause. | | | | symptoms similar to it. Sometimes, the presence of the |
| Tenderness, redness and excessive warmth on the | | | | disease predisposes the patient to other types of joint |
| areas affected also indicate the presence of the | | | | disease like cervical arthritis. |