Kids and battling Arthritis Arthritis is often associated with the older set. Joint pains, prominent swelling in the knuckles and knees hardly fit the profile of a child who is sick. Doctors, however, have found that rheumatoid arthritis can inflict children, as well as adults.
Almost 50,000 children in the United States have some form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, manifesting itself in swelling joints and stiffness. While this disease sometimes lasts just a few weeks for some children, other times it runs for months, years or even entire lifetimes. Like its adult counterpart, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It begins when the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells, mistaking them for harmful viruses and bacteria. The result is the release of damaging chemicals that eventually lead to pain brought on by tissue inflammation. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can harm anyone from 6 months to 16 years of age. Although initially difficult to spot because most children do not complain about joint pain, the most telling signs of this disease are redness, warmth and soreness in the joints, and swelling. Depending on the number of joints involved, doctors classify the disease into three distinct groups. Typically, more joints involved mean a more severe form of arthritis, and a smaller chance of total remission. - Pauciarticular JRA. The most common type of JRA, 50% of those with the disease fall under this classification. It is particularly prevalent in girls aged 8 and under. With four (or less) joints involved, this type usually affects the wrists and knees. Aside from pain and swelling in the joints, another indicator is the inflammation of the iris (iridocyclitis).
- Polyarticular JRA. About 30% of children with JRA are afflicted with this type. The symptoms include swelling and pain in five or more joints. Polyarticular JRA markedly affects symmetric areas of the body, most especially small joints like the hands and feet. Other indicators are low fevers, the appearance of nodules and the presence of an antibody called IgM rheumatoid factor.
- Systemic JRA. Only 20% of children with JRA fall under this classification. This type is characterized by sudden changes in temperature, usually in the evening (from high fevers to normal levels). Rashes, as well as swollen lymph nodes, may also be indicators. Also known as Still’s Disease, systemic JRA involves the entire body, and can lead to severe arthritis even into the child’s adulthood.
Even children are not exempt from the ill effects of this disease. Knowing about juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can help treat kids experiencing pain early on.
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