Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptom
Of the three different known types of arthritis, perhaps the most crippling and painful is the rheumatoid arthritis. Is your condition arthritis? Do you have a rheumatoid arthritis symptom, or is it osteoarthritis or septic arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that is most often characterized by joint stiffness, pain, fatigue and disfiguration. This broadly defines the most common symptoms, but what should you look for on an individual basis?
The first rheumatoid arthritis symptom to usually make itself known is fatigue. Now, since there are one thousand and one diseases that classify fatigue as a symptom, it is almost impossible at this stage of the disease to identify this rheumatoid arthritis symptom and be positive that you are right.
The next symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is a more apparent link to the disease and comes as joint pain and stiffness. These two symptoms are almost universally dual, as one creates the other. Joint stiffness occurs because of the swelling of the joint itself, and this in turn can be painful. The inflammation that has begun will continue to cause the pain and stiffness, and at some point, joint degeneration will begin.
The final rheumatoid arthritis symptom is the joint degeneration that occurs, and this brings about the crippling effect of rheumatoid arthritis. As joint begin to degenerate, they also become disfigured. This also adds to the pain and inflammation, which creates a vicious cycle.
The most apparent rheumatoid arthritis symptom is also the last, and at this point, the sufferer has progressed well into the grip of the disease. There is one additional rheumatoid arthritis symptom that can help doctors detect the disease at an early stage: it has an inherited genetic tendency.
If your parent or parents had the disease, there is a strong likelihood that you too, will develop the autoimmune deficiency over the course of your life. It is this knowledge that helps you, and your doctors detect the onset of the disease.
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