What is Rheumatoid Arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation of joints. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) tends to start slowly with minor symptoms that reoccur, generally on both sides of the body, and progress over a period of weeks or months.
Early Signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Symptoms of this chronic disease differ from individual to person and can change from day to day. Bouts of disease activity are called flare-ups, and non-active periods are called remission.
1. Fatigue
You might feel uncommonly tired well before any other symptoms end up being obvious. Tiredness can precede the beginning of other symptoms by weeks or months. It might reoccur from week to week or day to day. Fatigue is often accompanied by a basic sensation of illness or even depression.
2. Early morning tightness
Early morning tightness is typically an early sign of arthritis. Tightness that lasts for a few minutes is normally a symptom of a degenerative kind of arthritis. Tightness that lasts for a number of hours is typically a symptom of inflammatory arthritis and is typical of rheumatoid arthritis. You may likewise feel tightness after any period of long term lack of exercise like taking a snooze or sitting.
3. Joint tightness
Tightness in several of the smaller joints is a common early sign of rheumatoid arthritis. This can take place at any time of day, whether you are active or not. Generally, stiffness starts in the joints of the hands. It usually comes on slowly, although it can come on suddenly and impact multiple joints during one or two days.
4. Joint pain
Joint tightness is typically followed by joint inflammation or pain during movement or while at rest. This likewise impacts both sides of the body similarly. In early rheumatoid arthritis, the most common websites for pain are the fingers and wrists. You may likewise experience pain in your knees, feet, ankles, or shoulders.
5. Minor joint swelling
Mild inflammation of the joints is normal early on, triggering your joints to appear bigger than normal. This swelling can likewise cause joints to feel warm to the touch.
Flare-ups can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and this pattern can be anticipated to increase with time. Subsequent flare-ups may be felt in the same joints or in other joints.
6. Fever
When accompanied by other symptoms like joint pain and inflammation, a low-grade fever might be an early warning sign that you have RA. Nevertheless, a fever higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) is more likely to be a sign of some other kind of disease or an infection.
7. Numbness and tingling
Inflammation of tendons can produce pressure on your nerves. This might cause numbness, tingling, or a burning sensation in your hands referred to as carpal tunnel syndrome. The joints of your hands or feet might even produce a squeak or crackling sound as harmed cartilage grinds versus joints when you move.
8. Reduction in variety of motion
Inflammation in your joints can cause tendons and ligaments to end up being unsteady or deformed. As the disease advances, you might find yourself unable to flex or straighten some joints. Although your variety of movement might also be impacted by pain, it’s essential to participate in regular, mild workout.
9. Other early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
During the early states of RA, you may feel a variety of symptoms, including:
- general weakness or a feeling of malaise
- dry mouth
- dry, itchy, or swollen eyes
- eye discharge
- trouble sleeping
- chest pain when you breathe (pleurisy)
- hard bumps of tissue under the skin on your arms
- loss of appetite
- weight loss.
See your doctor to obtain a proper diagnosis if you’re experiencing a few of the early symptoms of RA.
