Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack itself leading to inflammation and extreme pain in the joints.

This pain may manifest itself in any joints in the body but typically it will begin with the smaller joints of the fingers, hands and wrists.  Rheumatoid arthritis can be very difficult to diagnose and because the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis vary from person to person many doctors believe that rheumatoid arthritis may in fact be several different diseases manifesting themselves with similar commonalities.

 There are several things that doctors look for when diagnoses someone with rheumatoid arthritis.  Of all of the rheumatoid arthritis symptoms one of the most prevalent is asymmetrical joint pain that affects both sides of the body evenly.  This means that if a person that is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in their right hand they will also feel pain in the joints of their left hand as well.  Another symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is fatigue.  Fatigue is actually one of the most common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and can be exacerbated by the inflammation of the joints.  Fatigue is a very serious symptom that causes a person to have difficulty simply functioning in their day to day lives.  Fatigue makes it difficult to concentrate and do simple daily tasks.  There are many causes of fatigue, but if the fatigue is due to the inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis then the doctor can prescribe medication to help decrease the inflammation which will in return reduce overall fatigue.

Another symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is stiffness.  Most people that suffer from rheumatoid arthritis experience the most severe stiffness first thing in the morning or after being sedentary, such as sitting, for a long period of time.  If the stiffness lasts for a long time it is a sign that the rheumatoid arthritis is more severe and active.  People that suffer from rheumatoid arthritis also experience weakness due in part to the joint pain.  As the joints deteriorate it causes the muscles to weaken which increases pain.  This can make performing simple daily tasks such as combing hair, brushing teeth, holding a fork, and buttoning a shirt very difficult and laborious.  Another one of the rheumatoid arthritis symptoms is pain that comes from sitting for extended periods of time.  This is due to the damage to the joints.  Someone with rheumatoid arthritis may also experience flu like symptoms and muscle pain.  The disease tends to flare up and be very active for a time and then go into remission and be very inactive for a period of time.  One third of all people who live with rhumatoid arthritis will get rheumatoid nodules, which are lumps of tissue under their skin.  These generally will show up on a persons elbow and indicate a severe amount of activity with the disease.

Some people who suffer with rheumatoid arthritis will experience a loss of appetite, and weight loss.  Others may become anemic or have cold and or sweaty hands and feet.  Rheumatoid arthritis can also spread to the organs including the skin, eyes and lungs.  If the disease has spread to the glands around the eyes and mouth then the sufferer may experience a decrease in the ability to produce tears and saliva which is also known as Sjogrens syndrome.

People who suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis should also be on the look out for any changes in or damage to the cartilage, tendons, ligaments, or bones as this may cause a deformity and increase the instability of the joints that are already affected.  Another symptom of rheumatoid arthritis are skin ulcers and a general deterioration of a persons overall health and well being, and people that suffer from extreme cases of rheumatoid arthritis are more prone to illnesses and infections.  Not all people that have rheumatoid arthritis will react the same way, and not all of these symptoms will show up in every instance of the disease.  See your doctor if you have any concerns about this disease.