Junior rheumatoid arthritis - an unfair disease

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Junior rheumatoid arthritis made simple

Junior rheumatoid arthritis is known by many names. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis or JRA, Juvenile Chronic Arthritis or JCA and Junior Idiopathic Arthritis or JIA. They all represent the disease of rheumatoid arthritis that affects children. This disease is one of the most common childhood diseases in the western world with around 300,000 children affected in the US alone. One of life’s great mysteries to me, is why children have to be afflicted by this wretched complaint.

To complicate things further and to make diagnosis more difficult, is the fact that junior rheumatoid arthritis is further split into three different forms. The first is called Oligoarticular (formerly known as Pauciarticular), which affects only a few joints – usually four or less of the larger joints (for instance the knees). The second is known as Polyarticular which tends to affect five or more joints, in this case the smaller joints in the hands and feet.

The third type of junior rheumatoid arthritis is the more serious type and often goes on to adulthood. Systemic Onset JRA resembles the traditional adult form in that it potentially causes inflammation of internal organs as well as the joints. This mostly affects children with the antibody known as IgM rheumatoid factor in their blood. Not all children fit neatly into these different categories of course, the boundaries can be a bit blurred.

Fortunately a large percentage of child sufferers have a mild form of junior rheumatoid arthritis and can lead mostly normal lives with minimal intervention. The symptoms of this disease can vary significantly between children and even vary in one child from one day to the next. This also makes diagnosis difficult and this is why it can be mistaken for other illnesses, for instance Lyme Disease. In a large number of cases, JRA can spontaneously disappear when a child reaches adulthood, however some cases unfortunately persist.

Symptoms of junior rheumatoid arthritis

The main symptoms of junior rheumatoid arthritis are pain in the joints, stiffness (gelling) in the morning or after a period of rest and swelling of the joints. Muscle weakness may also be noticed and in some children skin rashes or fever. If your doctor suspects JRA, he or she will probably refer you to a pediatric rheumatologist who specializes in children with these types of conditions.

Treatment from the medical profession will consist mainly of pain relief, although some types of junior rheumatoid arthritis will require different medication to slow the onset of the disease and prevent joint damage. This is usually the case in Systemic Onset JRA. Care needs to be taken with these drugs as they suppress the immune system, leaving the child more at risk of infections.

Many parents look for alternative remedies and these are available. Physical therapy is very effective in many cases, as it enables better functioning of joints and muscles. Occupational therapy is also used and this helps children learn to perform tasks they might otherwise find difficult and be involved in normal activities with other children.

Nutritional or diet related treatment, although scoffed at by the medical set, can be extremely effective, but is too detailed to go into fully here.

This childhood form of rheumatoid arthritis can vary from a minor inconvenience to a cruel debilitating disease. Try and always remain positive for your child and advise their teachers and any other adults they might interact with, to also be positive and encouraging. Last but not least remember that medical advances are progressing rapidly, so the future for children with this junior rheumatoid arthritis may be brighter than it looks today.