About Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis have a great diversity in appearance and severity. Different people show different signs in this illness. The signs can occur and disappear. In some patients, there is a time during which a few or no signs are exhibited and their disease is passive during that time. Whereas, some other people exhibit ceaseless symptoms for a long time.

Although RA may affect several parts of the body, joints are the usual site where it occurs. Joints are inflamed. Inflammation is believed to be a natural response of the body to any viral or other type of infection or other foreign particle’s attack, but in RA, the causative factor for inflammation is unrecognized.

Joint inflammation is thought of as a hallmark sign in RA. First of all, the joints become immovable. Their movements become restrained. Amongst these too, morning stiffness takes place compulsorily and this ridigity may remain for a long time.

Next is swelling, which is seen because of the fluid that enters the joint to make it softly swollen and gives rise to more hardness.

Following ingredient of inflammation is pain. Since the joint becomes tender, pain forms an essential part of prolonged inflammation.

Yet another ingredient of inflammation is redness of skin over the joint. This skin looks more pinkish or reddish than the adjacent skin.

This disease can occur in any joint, though hands are almost unfailingly affected. The symptoms are manifested in a symmetrical pattern, i.e., in the same sort of joints on both sides of the body. Other joints of common occurrence of the disease are, those in knees, wrists, shoulders, neck, elbows and sometimes even joints in the jaws.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may be manifested all over the body and they are resulted from the progression of inflammation. These symptoms display a wide variety, namely morbidity, feeling of illness, loss of hunger causing weight loss and aching muscles. They resemble the influenza symptoms, but are less severe and long-lasting.

At times the disorder can depict something called rheumatoid nodules. They are protrusions under the skin and occur commonly on the elbows. They pain sometimes.

Next symptom is the hoarseness of voice and it is resultant of the inflammation in the joint in the voice box, which is known as, the cricoarytenoid joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis can develop inflammation in the lining of heart and lungs too, but it depicts no symptoms in almost all cases. Lungs may be even hurt due to rheumatoid arthritis, which too manifest no signs. In case of lungs, shortness of breath and in case of heart, breathlessness or chest pain are the signs, if they are displayed at all. Sometimes patients of rheumatoid arthritis are more vulnerable to choked arteries in the heart, which can cause chest pain and also heart attack. Breathlessness due to  the inflammation of the lining of lungs can be treated by medicines that control the inflammation.

Very rarely, that is, in less than 5% of patients, eyes too are affected due to rheumatoid arthritis. In such a condition, symptoms such as redness and pain in the eyes and also sometimes dryness are depicted.

When symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are seen, it is extremely vital to cure them, as, in time and precise treatment can cease further progression of the illness.