Psoriatic arthritis is disease of the joint quite like rheumatoid arthritis and it is also closely linked to skin as well as nail psoriasis. In addition, it is not very severe though it causes flare-ups intermittently; only in very few instances will it lead to crippling effects. What’s more, juvenile psoriatic arthritis does not lead to consequences (long term) and so, it is a condition that does not give rise to too much concern.

Several Causes

As for understanding psoriatic arthritis causes there are many theories; but, little concrete evidence as to the real reason behind this disease.

There are however, several perceived causes related to why juvenile psoriatic arthritis occurs and among the different causes are genes as well as the environment in which the children grow up. In fact, a family with history of psoriatic arthritis will be more at risk that their children will suffer from juvenile psoriatic arthritis than a family without prior history of psoriatic arthritis.

The symptoms of juvenile psoriatic arthritis occur in a unique manner and often the arthritis occurs even before the rash shows up and this of course, makes diagnosing juvenile psoriatic arthritis very difficult; often, the diagnosis may only be made ten years after the onset of the condition.

Some of the common symptoms of juvenile psoriatic arthritis are thick as well as yellowed fingernails, toenails and appearance of tiny as well as round and scaly patches on the patient’s scalp as too on the belly button and even on the buttock. Other than these, there are also some of the larger joints becoming affected including at the hip and the patient’s fingers as well as toes too will swell up – so much so, as to make them look just like sausages.

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis can also lead to a damaged eye and can cause a limited range of motion of the joints and there is also possibility that the limbs might become deformed by either becoming lengthened or shortened; and, finally there is risk that the cartilage will get damaged and the joints can also become enlarged.

Once the symptoms of juvenile psoriatic arthritis begin to show up it is then necessary that you show your child to a doctor who will then identify the root cause of the juvenile psoriatic arthritis condition and prescribe suitable treatment. An unsettling fact related to juvenile psoriatic arthritis is that about ten to twenty percent of young children that suffer from this disease will end up with inflamed eyes and so, besides consulting a doctor you will also need to show your child to an eye specialist as well – preferably annually.