The first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may be swelling and morning stiffness or just a general aching of the joints. The cause of affects the first areas affected by rheumatoid arthritis are the feet and hands. closest to the palm, as well as joints in the jaw, neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles and toes. Any joint in the body can be a target.
Inflammation can cause body symptoms such as low grade fever, flu like body aches, and a general feeling of not being well. You may also lose your appetite, lose weight, and feel like yo have no energy. Fatigue is a very common symptom of RA and may first overtake you in the afternoon. Fatigue may also be a symptom of anemia, which RA, Inflammation can affect the tear producing glands in the eyes and saliva producing glands in the mouth, so you may experience dry eyes and dry mouth. You can have muscle pain and stiffness after sitting or lying in one position for a long time. Depression is also common.
About first-quarter of women About this is one of these symptoms may not add up to much. About one-quarter of women with RA raised, firm lumps called rheumatoid nodules. Rheumatoid nodules are in abnormal accumulation of cells, much like the synovial cells that we see accumulating within the joint, but they are commonly occurring just under the skin. That is repeated pressure, such as on the elbows where you lean them on a table, or the finger joints. Because rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease, nodules can show up in other places, such as the eye, the heart, the lungs. They can be very destructive, very damaging, interfering whatever is in their path of growth. And they can be disfiguring and disconcerting to patients.
Inflammation can also develop the singing out inflammation in the lingings of the chest and lungs, causing pain on the a deep breath and breathlessness; rheumatoid nodules can also appear in the lung tissues itself, not just the lining. Blood vessels can also be inflamed; a common sign is tiny broken blood vessels in the cuticle area of the nail bed.
You may first notice the symptoms of feel a worse during the cold months and improve in warm weather. While RA develops gradually in about 50 percent of women, with symptoms coming and going for months, a more continuous pattern eventually emerges. This disease needs to be diagnosed very quickly and treatment needs to be started quickly. So that increasing the importance of having women recognize the signs and symptoms.
