Pay concentration to Those Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms!

Pay concentration to Those Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms!

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most base variations of arthritis, and it ordinarily affects those in the middle of the ages of 25 and 55, most of them women. It's an autoimmune and systemic disease that gives rise to many rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and signs. The most overriding of all these symptoms is the unremitting pain and pain that sufferers palpate on a regular basis, and which most often restrict their quality to move about freely and adversely sway their quality of life.

Finger Joint Swelling

Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms ordinarily manifest themselves in the small joints of the feet and fingers, although they can appear in joints in other locations as well, such as the hips and knees. In autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, the immune law misfires and turns on wholesome cells and tissues -- in this case, the synovium or the lining of the joints. Pain and inflammation are the most prominent results of this "friendly fire" by the immune system.

The majority of patients awake to stiff and painful joints in the morning, which can last for an hour or more. A long period of inactivity or rest can also trigger this pain and stiffness. The disease ordinarily affects more than just one joint and appears bilaterally or symmetrically. That is, a someone can palpate symptoms in the fingers of both her left and right hands or the toes of both her left and right feet. It becomes harder to move the affected joint in its full range of motion, and even the least number of pressure on it can cause a lot of pain. Also, the skin covering the joint can become red and inflamed, and at times the inpatient can feel whether a tingling sensation or deadness in her skin. A low-grade fever is base among sufferers of this disease.

Small nodules or 'tophi' appear under the skin of about 25 percent of citizen with the disease. These lumps and bumps are about the size of a pea and are ordinarily painless. They are the results of inflammation and scar tissue, and can appear in areas such as the arms, ankles, and elbows. Even though the tophi are not painful, they should not be dismissed because they could indicate other, more serious conditions than rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease, meaning it affects not just the joints but many other parts of the body as well. Inflammation can occur in the lungs, giving rise to a condition called pleurisy. Inflammation of glands in the mouth and in the eyes can cause mouth dryness and eye irritation, also called Sjogren's syndrome. Inflammation can calso occur (though quite rarely) in the blood vessels and the pericardium, or the membrane enclosing the heart. an additional one complication of rheumatoid arthritis is anemia, where the bone marrow is unable to furnish the enough number of red blood cells needed to keep it healthy.

The disease does not only sway the body, many of the symptoms manifest themselves in psychological ways as well. For instance, patients complain of a feeling of listlessness or an total feeling of not being well. This condition is also known by the term malaise. Getting tired easily, a feeling of fatigue, loss of appetite, and weight loss -- these are all rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and lead greatly to the patient's perception of a allowance in her quality of life.

It is prominent to remember that no two persons will have exactly the same symptoms. Just as each person's physical make-up and metabolisms are different, so too will rheumatoid arthritis symptoms will become manifest in each individual. Some men and women palpate sudden flare-ups of the disease, with the symptoms disappearing after some days or weeks while others will palpate continuous pain and swelling for some years. Aside from the constant pain, long-term rheumatoid arthritis that is left untreated will lead to gross deformities and permanent joint damage.

Knowing about the various rheumatoid arthritis symptoms will help each someone be aware of what to look out for, especially if she is already predisposed to the disease. It will save the trouble and charge that could follow from misdiagnosis and guesswork. A someone who presents with one or more of these symptoms should seek immediate curative attentiveness so that the expand of the disease can be slowed down or even halted at the earliest inherent time.