Many people associate Arthritis with the elderly, although that’s not exclusively accurate. Affecting only about one percent of the world population, Rheumatoid Arthritis usually strikes women between the ages of forty and sixty, and occurs in women three times more often than in men. However, there are rare cases of children who are also affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis. According to Mayo Clinic, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is the most common type of arthritis in children under the age of 17, affecting about 50,000 children in the United States. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis results in significant pain and disability in children, causing persistent joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Some children experience these symptoms for only a few …show more content…
It’s an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the lining of the joints. An autoimmune disease occurs when the individuals own immune system fails to recognize healthy tissue. The immune system, designed to protect our health by attacking foreign cells such as viruses, instead attacks the body’s healthy tissue. As a result, fluid builds up in the joints causing inflammation and joint pain. According to WebMD, Rheumatoid Arthritis is a type of arthritis that occurs in joints on both sides of the body. This symmetry helps distinguish Rheumatoid Arthritis from other types of arthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “the inflamed synovium leads to erosions of the cartilage and bone.” This inflammatory process primarily affects the lining of the joints, known as the synovial membrane, but can also affect other organs. As stated by James Warson, “the causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis are not known, but several theories are under investigation” (63). Some theories suggest that a virus may alter the immune system, causing it to attack the joints. Other theories suggest that exposure to smoking may lead to Rheumatoid Arthritis. It’s believed to be due to a combination of genetic, environmental, and hormonal …show more content…
For this reason, it is very important to evaluate the quality of sleep in patients and caregivers. Patients with chronic pain often suffer from sleep disturbances, which affect sleep quality for them and their caregivers. Other sleep complications of children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis include daytime sleepiness, sleep anxiety, night awakenings, and sleep disordered breathing. As indicated by Nozoe, “sleep is an essential physiologic process for the body homeostasis, especially for the physical development of children and their immune system.” Sleep disturbances may lead to other negative health consequences such as impairment and changes of the immune system. Improving sleep and treating sleep problems is essential for children diagnosed with this
Rhematoid Arthritis – Is an autoimmune disease which can cause chronic inflammation of body`s organs, joints, and the surrounding tissue of the joints. It can
Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) is the most common type of autoimmune arthritis. RA is a progressive and debilitating musculoskeletal disorder that affects the joints symmetrically, causing a range of systemic effects. What it causes is still not well known; nevertheless, findings of new research points towards a believe that it is triggered by a defective immune system, which causes the release of inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals cause damage to cartilage and bone, usually affecting the wrists, the joints of the hand, including the knuckles, the middle joints of the fingers and feet. While this condition can affect any joints, besides, important body organs such as the eyes and the lungs can also be affected by the inflammation that occurs as a result of this chronic condition. Only in America 1.3 million of people are affected by this ailment, and 75 % of them are mainly women. Its onset usually occurs between fourth and sixth decades; however, RA can occur at any age("Diseases And
There are different types of arthritis such as gouty arthritis which causes a swelling usually in the big toe, psoriatic arthritis that often occurs along with psoriasis and reactive arthritis which usually involves the eyes, urethra and joints. Juvenile arthritis is an umbrella term used to describe any form of childhood arthritis or arthritis-related conditions which affects people under 16 years old. The most common form of childhood arthritis is juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) which is also referred to as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). Individuals who suffer from JRA experience stiffness and joint inflammation that result into swelling, warmth, soreness and redness of the joints. JRA, also
Today in the United States there is an estimated 1.3 million people living and dealing with rheumatoid arthritis (Arthritis Foundation). One might ask, what exactly is rheumatoid arthritis? Well, rheumatoid arthritis, also commonly known as RA, is a form of inflammatory disease and an autoimmune disease. If the person is a minor, or below the age of six-teen, then the chronic disease can also go by the name of juvenile arthritis. The juvenile arthritis is, “Defined as chronic inflammation of the synovial joints, with unknown etiology, which starts before the age of sixteen and persists for at least six weeks” (Hink et al 1). This disease can affect anyone with a functioning immune system. Out of the 1.3 million people in the United States that have rheumatoid arthritis, 70% of that number is women (RA.com). Once again there are no certain reasons as to who receives this disease whether its children, elders, Caucasians, African Americans, etc. But once they do receive the illness, then it affects them immensely. “The disease is systemic, meaning it can occur throughout the whole body. It’s a chronic disease, so it can’t be cured” (Arthritis Foundation). The pain, stiffness and fatigue can affect the entire body. “RA occurs when your immune system, the system that protects your body from outside harm, mistakenly starts attacking healthy tissue” (RA.com). Rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable disease that is affecting
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) is a chronic and progressive autoimmune disorder of the joints. In JRA the joints become stiff, swollen, and inflamed causing pain and loss of movement. The cause is thought to be genetic and/or related to environmental factors which are still not understood. Because of its origin not being well understood, JRA is also called juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The body has abnormal immune responses wherein it attacks normal cells and tissues causing damage to the joints (McMahon Anne-Marie, 2011).
Definition: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder, which affects the small joints of hands and feets, and the lining of joints that causes painful swelling. The swelling can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity. It’s an autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks own body 's tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis not only causes a joint problem, but it can also affect other organs of the body such as the skin, eyes, lungs, and blood vessels.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), is an autoinflammatory disease that begins before the age of 16. (2) The cause behind JIA is currently unknown. Symptoms of JIA are a fever (a rash usually accompanying the fever as well), enlarged spleen, presence of arthritis, and also always a sign of systemic inflammation
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA), or sometimes called juvenile chronic arthritis, is a disease that affects children causing joint inflamation which makes the joints stiff and painful. This Disease affects about one in one thousand children ages sixteen and younger. Doctors have also found that the more joints affected the more serious the disease and symptoms are less likely to go into full remission.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic syndrome that is characterized by inflammation of the peripheral joints, but it may also involve the lungs, heart, blood vessels, and eyes. The prevalence of this autoimmune disease is between 0.3% to 1.5% of the population in the United States (Feinberg, pp 815). It affects women two to three times more often than men, and the onset of RA is usually between 25 and 50 years of age, but it can occur at any age (Reed, pp 584). RA can be diagnosed by establishing the presence of persistent joint pain, swelling in a symmetric distribution, and prolonged morning stiffness. RA usually affects multiple joints, such as the hands, wrists, knees, elbows, feet, shoulders, hips, and small hand joints. RA is
February 14th to most people is the day of love. Couples make reservations at the fanciest restaurants, offices are filled with flowers and chocolates, people get in engaged, girls cry about being alone. I on the other hand cried for another reason. February 14th changed my life.
While most individuals that have the disorder are older and have less of a regulation on their immune response, younger individuals with Juvenile Idiopathic Rheumatoid Arthritis experience an over compromised immune responses that attacks the joints of the body, creating chronic inflammation and crepitus of the joints, along with fluid buildup, and breakdown of cartilage and bone. Individual often experience flair-ups that make the ability to get out of bed in the morning agonizing. While this is normal in an older individual, it is hard to imagine a three year old having to live their daily life as if they were ninety years old. There is so much that limits the child’s daily activities, more so in treatments requiring splints, as well as its painful progression as individuals who have the disease become adults (Mayo Clinic Staff,
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. While inflammation of the tissue around the joints and inflammatory arthritis are characteristic features of rheumatoid arthritis, the disease can also cause inflammation and injury in other organs in the
It has been almost six years since my diagnosis of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. What began as an ankle injury from a school dance performance, quickly turned into a year-long journey of physical rehabilitation in an attempt to heal my foot. Only to discover this injury was not something a cast could mend, rather it would be an obstacle I would have to endure and learn to embrace for the rest of my life. As a young adolescent, the revelation of this disease was a bitter pill to swallow. My diagnosis came at a time in my life when I was just beginning to imagine my future. I was not yet mature enough to process the idea of having to live my life and accept this debilitating disease simultaneously.
Out of 1,000 children, 1 child develops some type of Juvenile arthritis, which can affect the children at any age, rarely in the first six months In the United States, approximately 300,000 children have been diagnosed with Juvenile arthritis. It will be very much challenging for the children to grow up with arthritis. Most children with arthritis live full and active lives with the care from the team of Rheumatology professionals. Various types of arthritis are there which can last from several months to many years. To avoid the joint damage, early diagnosis and treatment are very much essential.[1]
Arthritis is a joint disorder, which affects one or several joints in the body. The condition has more than one hundred types of diseases with osteoarthritis being the most common. Osteoarthritis results from joint infection, or age. Patients that suffer from arthritis complain about pain in the joints. In most cases, the pain remains constant in the affected joint. It is worth noting, “The pain from arthritis is due to inflammation that occurs around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, daily wear and tear of joint, muscle strains caused by forceful movements against stiff painful joints and fatigue” (Reid, Shengelia & Parker, 2012, p. 40). However, joint pain could result from various diseases, and in such