Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) or juvenile idiopathic arthritis as it is also known is a common type of arthritis that occurs in children between 7to 16 years of age. This disease causes unrelenting joint, pain, swelling, stiffness and in some instances reduced motion. In some children, the symptoms may last for just a few months while in others they experience the symptoms for the rest of their lives. There are different types of JRA. Some types are very serious and they can even cause eye inflammation and growth problems.

Signs and symptoms

Some of the early signs and symptoms are limping in the morning or after a nap, joint pain or swelling, fever or a new rash. The other symptoms may include: joint pain and stiffness, muscle pain, poor appetite, weight loss, eye irritation, lethargy and reduced range of motion. JRA can affect one or more joints. In some instances, it may affect the whole body resulting in swollen lymph nodes, recurrent fevers and rashes. Just like in other forms of arthritis, there are times when the symptoms may flare up and other times when they disappear.

Causes and risk factors

What causes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown. However, the condition is autoimmune meaning that it happens when the immune system begins to attack and destroys its cells and tissues. It is not known why this happens but it is believed that changes in environment and certain gene mutations cause it. There are some studies have shown that certain virus mutations may trigger rheumatoid arthritis in children.

Generally rheumatoid arthritis in children is more prevalent in girls than boys. The other risks factors that mat may aggravate or that have been associated to the disease are genetic predisposition and psychological stress. Genetic predisposition means that if any family member has rheumatoid arthritis there is a high likelihood that the other family members may develop arthritis. Psychological stress is also strongly believed to aggravate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in.

Types

There are 3 major classifications of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis namely: oligoarticular, polyarticular and systemic juvenile arthritis.

• Systemic JRA: it affects the whole body causing the child to have high fever especially in the evenings. At the beginning of the fever the child may become very ill, look pale and develop salmon pink skin rashes that come and go. It also causes inflammation of internal organs such as the spleen, heart, liver and parts of the digestive tract.

• Oligoarticular arthritis: it affects only a few joints usually less than five. It mostly affects the large joints such as the elbow, hip, knee and shoulder. It commonly occurs in children under the age of 8 causing joint pain, stiffness or swelling.

• Polyarticular JRA: it affects five joints or more during the onset of disease. The joints which are mostly affected are the small joints in the hand and feet. This type of JRA can occur at any age and in some cases it is identical to adult type rheumatoid arthritis.

There are some serious complications that can develop as a result of JRA. However, being keen on your child’s condition and seeking appropriate treatment can significantly minimize the risk of these complications. Treatment of JRA helps your child to remain normally active both physically and socially. JRA can be treated with drugs, physical therapy to keep the joints flexible and surgery. Surgery is only done in very severe cases to improve the position of a joint.