Rheumatoid arthritis is becoming increasingly common and is one of the worst possible health conditions. Arthritis is of seven types and rheumatoid arthritis is one of those, which falls under the autoimmune category. Osteoarthritis is still the most common forms of arthritis found amongst people, affecting their joints due to age factors, trauma or specific infections. Rheumatoid arthritis is different as it leads to a situation of the body turning against itself, though the condition is triggered off by a series of factors. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are many, and initially start with mild aches and pains, but over time take severe forms.
Described in brief, rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic ailment, caused in response to some external factor triggering a systemic autoimmune condition. The joints swell up and begin to worsen in physical fitness over time, creating long-term pain and discomfort. The beginning symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are inflamed and painful fingers and toes. The disorder mostly affects the joints, but around 15% of rheumatoid arthritis patients are also affected with extra-articular (beyond the joint areas) symptoms.
Typically, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are not consistent and irrupt intermittently. These are commonly referred to as ?flare-ups.? The symptoms can rise at any time, whether day or night. But, the pain and inflammation are at their worst during the morning hours, soon after waking up. The swelling and pain eases throughout the day, reducing drastically by night. The reason is, when you wake up your joints are naturally stiff and during the day your movements relax them.
As rheumatoid arthritis advances, it spreads to the rest of the body?s joints like the jaw, shoulders, hips, knees and elbows. It is often found that it affects joint pairs simultaneously, like both elbows and both knees. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis also include redness and warmth around the joints along with swelling and severe pain.
A set of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, are referred to as secondary symptoms. These are connected to general health conditions as a response to the pain. These could be loss of appetite, anxiety, stress, depression, anemia, nodules under the skin, and a general feeling of being ill. Over 25% of the patients complain of skin nodules, specifically in the forearms and in the elbows. Though painless, they are small lumps that can be felt and sometimes seen as bumps on the skin. Anemia is a condition of inadequate red blood cells to carry oxygen to the whole body, and it leads to fatigue, and laziness. This is found in over 80% of the patients.
In some cases, fever and weight loss is common, because of all the other symptoms combining to create general ill-health. Sleep deprivation, constant pain and weakness are also seeing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Consistent physical ailments are common in rheumatoid arthritis patients, because of how it limits physical capabilities. Other symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include swelling of the heart and lung linings, tear glands, blood vessels and salivary glands.
There are certain risk factors associated with the conditions that go beyond simply recognizing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Gender, age, smoking and genetics are the most common risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis. Women are more susceptible to the ailment and women over 40 are at a higher risk than younger women. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can occur in younger people, although it's rare. It's important to understand that rheumatoid arthritis is not entirely hereditary, which means you can be carrying the genes for it, but it's not assured you'll develop the condition. External triggers are necessary for that to happen. Smoking in particular can trigger and worsen rheumatoid arthritis.
