Rheumatoid arthritis is classified as a chronic illness meaning this can lasts for over the years to come. Symptoms may not be evident and a patient may be suffering from this illness without even knowing it. This illness is also classed as a progressive illness. Therefore, as years pass by it would lead to the destruction of the joints as well as functional disability.
There has been a long battle on searching for the answers on what causes rheumatoid arthritis on a person. It has been left unknown up to this time but researchers and scientists have long been studying to come up with concrete causes to this joint illness.
The following are believed to be causes of rheumatoid arthritis:
- Hereditary. If one within the family or relatives does have rheumatoid arthritis, chances are the person will least likely to have it in the future.
- Environmental factors. It has been proven by scientists and researchers that smoking tobacco can add to the increase in possibility of having rheumatoid arthritis.
When the rheumatoid arthritis is active, the symptoms include the following: stiffness, loss of appetite, joint aches, fatigue, and energy slows down, among others. On some occasion, symptoms are not imminent. A person will only know if he or she has rheumatoid arthritis at its late stage which leads to the swelling and feeling a lot of pain within the joints and muscles.
This is the reason why people might associate having excruciating pain within the joints and muscles is already a sign of arthritis. But in reality, it is not on its early stage but going on to the next level. When it comes to diagnosis, there is no single test that will come up with a result whether a person has a rheumatoid arthritis or not. It is more of collating the results of variety of tests such as X-ray testing, findings whether there exist rheumatoid nodules and the characteristics of the inflammation and stiffness of the joints and other relevant tests that will conclude a doctor that a person is suffering from such illness.
As for treatment, there has been no medicine that has been made in order to cure the rheumatoid arthritis symptoms itself. What's available in store now are tablets and other types of medicines that will help ease the pain, lessen the inflammation and prevent the destruction of the joints. Simply, all the medications found at the pharmacy and what the doctor recommends are those that will eliminate further damage of the joints and minimize the occurrence of the rheumatoid arthritis.
Sources:
- William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), medicinenet.com
- Mayo Clinic Staff, Rheumatoid Arthritis Definition, www.mayoclinic.com
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Walter Hart - I'm Walter from Fremont. At Day I work offline as a Sales Rep from Indodemand Inc during free time I provide content services in the Net ...
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