Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation and pain while the disease attacks a body, and it touches many individuals including children, especially those under the age of sixteen. When RA focuses on a child, it is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. However, RA and JRA are similar in their characteristics of swelling and inflammation of the joints while being terribly painful.
No one really knows what causes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, although there have been numerous studies to find its cause. JRA or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which goes about turning the body into its own enemy as the body tries to heal itself by attacking the joints and the soft tissues around them. When white blood cells eventually lose their programming to determine good healthy cells from harmful cells within the body such as viruses and bacteria and begin to create chemicals that will damage the healthy tissues while causing pain and inflammation.
JRA is a collective disease that targets children with three identified forms of this type of arthritis. Research shows that there are numerous joints affected by JRA. The most sever cases of JRA have little probability of going into total remission. Here you will fine the three forms of JRA.
This form generally affects more girls than boys as they endure the inflammation of joints in the shoulders and knees. There is generally pain and swelling of five or more joints. These may include the hands, feet, ankles, hips and neck, often accompanied by a low-grade fever as well as the formation or lumps and nodules.
This form will focus on many joints becoming inflamed at the same time, in the wrists, elbows, knees and other areas. Since it is a systematic form of JRA, it generally affects both sides of the body. However, this form normally affects less than four joints, while causing swelling, stiffness and pain of the wrists and knees. Although, it can also focus on the eyes when the iris becomes inflamed whether or not there are other afflicted joints.
This form will affect not only the joints but also the inflammation of some internal organs as well as bringing on fever, rashes and can affect the liver and spleen, when becoming inflamed. This form will also affect the lymph nodes since they will enlarge, however, eventually the whole body can suffer from the stiffness, swelling and pain of arthritis.
Since research has found that diet and exercise are influential for symptoms that are present when you suffer from arthritis, you should make sure your child gets the right amount of exercise and eats a healthy diet to help reduce pain, swelling and inflammation of arthritis. A diet rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are most helpful in reducing the progression arthritis as well as the pain associated with it. For instance, vitamin E and beta-carotene both aid in reducing inflammation, while beta-carotene also works to discourage the growth of arthritis. Vitamin C will reduce pain in some areas while discouraging the growth of arthritis.
Exercise helps mobility, therefore, even when your child is in pain from JRA, the very worse thing he or she can do is becoming immobile. Exercise will aid in keeping the immobility of arthritis at bay.
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