Arthritis Symptoms: Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms in females

The first rheumatoid arthritis symptoms might be swelling and morning stiffness or just a general aching of the joints. In ninety pct of females, the 1st areas affected by rheumatoid arthritis are the feet and hands. The disease often impacts the wrist and the finger joints nearest to the palm, as well as joints in the jaw, neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles and toes. Any joint within the body could possibly be a target.

Inflammation can result in body wide symptoms such as low grade fever, flu like body aches, and a general feeling of not being well. You might also lose your appetite, lose weight, and feel like yo have no energy. Fatigue is an incredibly common symptom of RA and might initial overtake you in the afternoon. Fatigue might be also a symptom of anemia, which often accompanies RA. Inflammation can impact the tear producing glands in the eyes and saliva producing glands in the mouth, so you may knowledge dry eyes and dry mouth. You can have muscle pain and stiffness after sitting or lying in one position for a long period. Depression is additionally common.

At 1st, these symptoms might not add up to much. Often a ladies will complain of joint pain to her doctor, and all that can be seen in a puffiness of the hands, without obvious redness or warmth. About one-quarter of women with RA develop brought up, organisation  lumps called rheumatoid nodules. Rheumatoid nodules are basically abnormal accumulations of cells, just like the synovial cells that we see accumulating in the joint, but they generally occur just under the skin. Nodules often appear in an area where there is repeated pressure, just like  on the elbows in which you lean them on a table, or the finger joints. As rheumatoid arthritis in hands is a systemic disease, nodules can show up in other places, like the eye, the heart, the lungs. They may be very destructive, very damaging, interrupting what ever is in their path of growth. And they can be disfiguring and disconcerting to patients.

Up to half of RA patients can develop inflammation in the linings of the chest and lungs, causing pain on taking a deep breath and breathlessness; rheumatoid nodules can appear in the lung tissues itself, not just the lining. Inflammation can affect the sac around the heart, producing fever, chest pain, a dry cough and difficulty breathing. Blood vessels may 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 RA through the winter, and symptoms often feel worse through the cold months and greatly improve in warm weather. While RA develops gradually in about 50 % of females, with symptoms coming and going for months, a more consistent pattern gradually emerges. This disease demands to be diagnosed very quickly and treatment desires to be began rapidly. In order that raises the importance of having ladies recognize the signs and symptoms.