|  | Conditions Treatments | Rheumatoid Arthritis

What Is Juvenile Arthritis?

Juvenile arthritis affects children between the ages of six months and 16 years. Though it is not always a life-threatening situation, it causes pain and discomfort, hampering the child's daily life. It can most often be treated with medication and physical therapy, while a few rare cases may also require surgery.

  1. What is Juvenile Arthritis?

    • Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) is a common form of arthritis that affects about 50,000 children in U.S. alone. It could be short-term, lasting just a few weeks, or long-term, lasting over years, and in rare cases, lasting a lifetime.

    Causes of JRA

    • JRA is an autoimmune disease, a disease in which the immune system, instead of protecting the body from harmful bacteria and viruses, releases chemicals that damage healthy tissue, causing pain and inflammation in and around the joints.

    Types of JRA

    • JRA affects children between the ages of six months to 16 years. There are three kinds of juvenile arthritis:

      Oligoarticular JRA. This affects four or fewer joints in the knee or wrist. Symptoms include pain, swelling, stiffness and an inflammation of the iris-colored area of eye---known as uveitis, iritis or iridocyclitis---and can be detected in its early stages by an ophthalmologist.

    Poly Articular JRA

    • Symptoms for this condition include pain, fever and swelling in five or more joints---such as neck, hips, knees, feet and ankles---and bumps on the affected areas. This kind of arthritis affects more girls than boys.

    Systemic JRA

    • This affects the entire body, and symptoms include pain and swelling of various joints, stiffness and sudden fevers and rashes.

    Treatments

    • Treatment may be a combination of drugs, exercise, physical therapy and balanced diet. Extreme cases may require injecting corticosteroids into the affected joint or even a surgery.

Rheumatoid Arthritis - Related Articles