One of the autoimmune diseases is the rheumatoid arthritis, causing inflammation of the joints as well as in other organs in the body that tends to be chronic. This disease can last for years, thus this is usually a progressive illness that has the potential to cause joint destruction and functional disability. Patients can experience signs of rheumatoid arthritis at the early stage of this disease.
Nowadays causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not yet known. Though infectious agents like viruses, bacteria, and fungi have long been suspected it has not been proven as the cause. Causes of rheumatoid arthritis are a very active area of worldwide research. It is believed that rheumatoid arthritis is genetically inherited and also suspected that a certain infections or factors in the environment might trigger the activation of the immune system that leads to inflammation in the joints and sometimes in the various organs of the body (e.g. lungs and eyes). Scientists have reported that smoking increases the possibility of having rheumatoid arthritis and that you might have the potential of suffering from signs of rheumatoid arthritis.
Signs of rheumatoid arthritis usually come and go base on the degree of tissue inflammation. When your body tissues are inflamed, it means that rheumatoid arthritis is active. And when tissue inflammation subsides, it means that the illness is inactive in remissions. Remissions can occur impulsively with treatment and can last for a couple of weeks, months, and worst, for years. Symptoms of this illness disappear for the duration of remissions, meaning, patients generally feel well. Though when the disease becomes active again, symptoms return which is called flare. Remissions and flare is distinctive. Rheumatoid arthritis’ course differs from one patient to another.
Signs of rheumatic arthritis include:
- Fatigue
- Loss of energy
- Lack of appetite
- Low-grade fever
- Muscle and joint ache
- Stiffness
Muscle and joint ache usually occurs in the morning, thus at times of flare, joints often become painful, swollen and tender because the lining of tissue of the joint becomes inflamed. Rheumatoid arthritis is a systematic disease that can affect other organs and areas of our body, thus the importance of knowing the signs of rheumatoid arthritis.