Health :: Symptoms Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease which may affect many different tissues or organs of the human body. It is a disease which is related to inflammation of various parts of the body. It is a chronic disease and also an autoimmune disease. This is because this disease causes the malfunctioning of some immune cells and as a result these cells tend to attack the human’s own body.

Rheumatoid arthritis is most commonly found in women than in men and approximately 1 % to 2 % of the population suffers from it. Rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects multiple joints and movement becomes difficult with the growth of the disease. There are various symptoms which indicate the presence of rheumatoid arthritis in a person. This article will tell you about those symptoms so that you can be aware of the disease.

  • The person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis mostly feels lethargic and this feeling is accompanied by body pain and also heaviness of the body.
  • When you wake up in the morning if you feel stiffness in the joints and this stiffness lasts for one hour and sometimes even more than this. This symptom is called morning stiffness. This stiffness may be felt not only in the joints, but also in other parts like back, fingers, knees and in this case crackling sound from these parts is produced.
  • Another symptom of rheumatoid is swelling and pain of the joints. The swollen joints are little warm when to touch them. The intensity of the pain may be symmetric in nature i.e. it may be present on both side of the body part or may be more on one side of the body depending on various conditions. The joints also become a bit tender.
  • If you see small nodules appearing on the skin near the joints it may be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis. The blood vessels which are affected by the rheumatoid arthritis tend to bleed and the therefore the skin may appear purplish in color. This is another symptom which may indicate the presence of rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Some symptoms which are common to other diseases also include lack of sleep, constipation, digestion problem, change in the sleep patterns, feeling full even by eating less.
  • Flu-like symptoms may occur to a person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Loss of appetite and fevers, unusual weight loss, anemia may be some of the unusual symptoms of the rheumatoid arthritis.
  • The person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis may also get depressed and the person may also feel dryness in the eyes as well as mouth.
  • Inflammation of the skin near joints is the most common symptom which occurs to the rheumatoid arthritis patients. Skin ulcers may also be the symptom indicating the rheumatoid arthritis.