Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can include fever along with aches and stiffness. You might find it connected to a flare or a far more regular occurrence.

There's a connection between rheumatoid arthritis and fever, yet it's sometimes a subtle one.

According to the American College of Rheumatology, low-grade fever is one of many common rheumatoid arthritis symptoms you may experience. Some people have fevers frequently, while others may feel slightly feverish yet do not attribute it to their rheumatoid arthritis. Similarly, not everyone responds to fever medication in the same way.

Why Your Temp Rises

“There are different reasons we have a fever,” explains Daniel Torres, MD, a rheumatologist with Vanguard West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill. “The most common reason is we have an infection.” Some rheumatoid arthritis medications can weaken your body’s immune system, making you more susceptible to tuberculosis, other bacterial infections, or fungal infections. Dr. Torres says it’s customary to first screen for infections before checking to see if a fever is the result of joint inflammation.

“In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the body recognizes the inflamed joint as a foreign object or an infection, so the immune system becomes hyperactive and fights it,” he explains. A group of molecules called cytokines are produced by the body to help protect against infection. With rheumatoid arthritis, your body thinks it’s under attack and begins to make increased amounts of certain cytokines, resulting in inflammation. The same group of cytokines that causes this inflammation also includes a molecule identified as interleukin 1 (IL-1). IL-1 is known as the “fever molecule,” which explains why fever may accompany inflammation.

 

Tips to Combat RA Fever

“A fever is a good thing," Torres says. "It means you have a good immune system that fights infection.” Here are some tips you can try the next time you have a rheumatoid arthritis fever:

• When you feel feverish, Dr. Torres recommends resting and placing a cold compress on your forehead for a natural remedy.
• If you're out in public, you can downplay flushed cheeks by staying hydrated and not pushing yourself.
• Rheumatoid arthritis fevers should be treated with fever medication like any other fever, he says: “Take an over-the-counter, anti-inflammatory medication that treats fever, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.”

RA and Fever: Kelly's Story

Kelly Young, creator of Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior and founder of the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2006 and has experienced low-grade fevers on an almost daily basis for the past seven years. Young’s rheumatoid arthritis symptoms have not responded to treatment and, when she has a fever caused by rheumatoid arthritis, it doesn’t respond to normal fever medication either.

“I do what most rheumatoid patients do with fever — the same thing we do with pain: We build up a tolerance so we usually ignore it,” she says. Young routinely takes a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID, for pain, but her fever is not diminished even if she takes four Advil (ibuprofen). “I’m not sure treating it is possible as a symptom,” she says. “If you respond to disease treatments, then a lot of your flares can be reduced, but I have never responded to a treatment.”

Even when she uses ice packs for rheumatoid arthritis pain in her neck, the fever lingers. For people whose symptoms are not responsive to treatment, the same fever that would be reduced by an NSAID if you had a virus is not reduced when it’s caused by inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, she says.

Young’s personal experience with fever and the similar stories she's heard from many of the people who visit her Web site have led her to believe that rheumatoid arthritis fever should be tracked and used as a form of objective measure of inflammation.

Fighting a Fever With Your Doctor’s Help

Although low-grade fever is a common rheumatoid arthritis symptom, you may want to talk to your doctor if rheumatoid arthritis fevers do not respond to over-the-counter medications or natural remedies like cold compresses.