The Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the immune system attacking the body's own tissues. Although the risk of developing most forms of arthritis increases with age, rheumatoid arthritis can occur at any stage in life, and it can take many different forms. Awareness of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can increase the chances of early diagnosis and successful treatment. Although arthritis cannot be cured and is usually progressive, it is possible to control the symptoms which make it difficult to live with, and immunosuppressive drugs can slow the progress of rheumatoid arthritis.

Many people are slow to identify the onset of arthritis because of the very symptoms it causes. Fatigue can cloud the brain and make it hard enough just to get through day to day life without noticing changes. Because the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis tend to develop slowly, these changes don't seem very dramatic, and it's only when making comparisons with how you used to be a few years ago that you're likely to realise something is wrong. Many people attribute arthritis symptoms to general tiredness or work stress. Sore or swollen joints are blamed on exercise or even the weather (people tend to do this without realising that healthy joints don't swell in bad weather). Sore or weak muscles are blamed on lack of sufficient dedication to keeping fit.

How can you tell the difference between these day to day problems are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis? When several symptoms occur at once, it's time to be suspicious. This also applies when possible rheumatoid arthritis symptoms affect several joints at once. Damage caused by careless exercise or by lack of exercise is usually limited to specific areas of the body. Rheumatoid arthritis may be worse in some areas of the body than others, but it usually affects the whole body to an extent, as it progresses. Arthritis symptoms also tend to be symmetrical - one bad knee may be caused by an injury, but two bad knees, especially if the cause problems over a long period of time, are a reason to talk to a doctor.

Because of the immune reaction involved, rheumatoid arthritis tends to cause fluid to build up in affected joints. This means that joints damaged by rheumatoid arthritis swell up more painfully and more dramatically that joints damaged by ordinary wear and tear. Fluid build-up may also cause symptoms like clicking in the joints and a general feeling of resistance to movement. It may make it hard to fully flex a joint, leading to symptoms such as curling of the fingers and toes. If you suffer from symptoms like this, it's important that you talk to a doctor. Prompt treatment of rheumatoid arthritis could make a big difference to your long term quality of life.