The Future Of Health Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can affect the work of your joints, as it causes inflammation in them. This disorder is hard to identify at its early stages because the symptoms can start from minor ones. They might come and go, and that is why people hardly notice that all the repeating pain and weakness might be connected with one cause.
Rheumatoid Arthritis has a chronic character, but there are periods of flare-ups and remission. Depending on a person’s age and other health conditions, the symptoms might vary greatly.
Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can be caused by several factors:
- Constant overstressing;
- Physical trauma;
- Smoking and inhaling smoke from other people;
- Some virus;
- Activation of specific hormones.
Although people who have a certain gene are more prone to getting Rheumatoid Arthritis, this disease is not usually considered a hereditary one. Thus, there are small chances of you inheriting RA, even if your parents have it.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
Usually, Rheumatoid Arthritis starts slowly and almost unnoticeably. You might not even feel any discomfort in joints at the very beginning of the disease’s development.
In the early stages of RA, people usually feel overall unwellness, fatigue, and pain or weakness in some parts of the body. You constantly feel tired because your body uses all the energy to reduce inflammation. Weakness appears for the same reason.
As Rheumatoid Arthritis develops, you get more severe symptoms. Your joints start to swell, they get red, and all flared up. The tiredness increases even more, and you might even get a fever as a result of your body regulating the inflammation.
Some other symptoms of active RA include stiffness, especially in the morning, and pain in joints. Stiffness usually results from being in the same position for a long time, and it should get better after 30 minutes of your movement. It might also appear during the day if you don’t move around that much.
What is more, Rheumatoid Arthritis might limit your movements and even numb some of your limbs. The disease affects your nerves, which is why a numb and then tingling feeling might appear regularly.
Symptoms Related to Other Body Organs
When a person has Rheumatoid Arthritis, not only do their joints get bad, but many other body parts as well. Those who have the disease lose their appetite, which can lead to major weight loss.
One’s skin, eyes, and lips can get dry due to RA as well. Moreover, you might get rheumatoid lumps under your skin, where the joints are the most hurt.
There might also appear some regular chest pains, and they can be caused by several Rheumatoid Arthritis consequences. Your muscle in the heart can get damaged, which might cause blood vessel problems. RA can also scar your lungs, and that would lead to pain as well.
If you feel any of the symptoms, especially the starting ones, for more than a week, it is advised to visit a doctor who can prescribe all the needed treatments.