Health Tips

Primary forms of arthritis: Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Septic arthritis, Gout and pseudogout, Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Still’s disease, Ankylosing spondylitis.

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. It is associated with a breakdown of cartilage in joints and can occur in almost any joint in the body. It most commonly occurs in the weight bearing joints of the hips, knees and spine. It can also affect the fingers, thumb, neck, and large toe. It usually does not affect other joints unless previous injury or excessive stress is involved. The chance of developing the disease increases with age.

Most people over age 60 have osteoarthritis to some degree, but its severity varies. Even people in their 20s and 30s can get osteoarthritis. In people over 50, more women than men get osteoarthritis. Symptoms of osteoarthritis most often develop gradually and include joint aching and soreness, especially with movement, pain after overuse or after long periods of inactivity, bony enlargements in the middle and end joints of the fingers and joint swelling and joint fluid accumulation.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can also cause inflammation of the tissue around the joints, as well as in other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by its own immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis is two to three times more common in women than in men and generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 60. But rheumatoid arthritis can also affect young children and older adults.

Septic arthritis, also called infectious arthritis, is caused by a bacterial infection or more rarely by a fungal or viral infection. The condition is typically acute, causing severe joint pain, inflammation, redness, and in some cases fever and chills but may also become chronic. Septic arthritis may affect any joint but is most frequently found in the knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, elbow, and finger joints. Usually only one joint will be affected but, in some cases, there may be more than one.

This condition needs to be diagnosed and treated quickly because it can destroy joints in a short period of time. Septic arthritis can strike any age group, including infants and children. In adults, it most commonly affects weight-bearing joints such as the knee, while in children it is more common in the shoulders, hips, and knees. Risk factors include patients diagnosed with chronic rheumatoid arthritis, certain systemic infections, certain types of cancer, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), IV drug abusers and alcoholics, and patients with artificial (prosthetic) joints. Patients with recent joint injuries or surgery, or patients receiving medications injected directly into a joint are also at a greater risk for developing septic arthritis. Typically, women and male homosexuals are at greater risk for septic arthritis than are male heterosexuals.

Gout and Pseudogout are inflammatory arthritis that can be caused by monosodium urate and calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal formation in joints. An excess of uric acid in the body causes this conditions. This excess can be caused by an increase in production of uric acid by the body, by under-elimination of uric acid by the kidneys or by increased intake of foods containing purines, which are metabolized to uric acid in the body. With time, elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to deposits around joints. Eventually, the uric acid may form needle-like crystals in joints, leading to acute gout attacks. After a time, this excess of uric acid usually causes painful joint inflammation (arthritis).

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is a relatively rare disease, affecting one in a thousand children in the UK. Many schools will have had little experience of it. However, it is important to understand how this condition can affect the daily lives of children who have it and what teachers can do to improve the quality of their school life. There are different forms of arthritis, all of which can vary in severity. They all involve pain, stiffness and joint swelling. Three of the main types are oligo-articular JIA, polyarticular JIA and systemic JIA.

Still’s Disease is a form of arthritis that is characterized by high spiking fevers and evanescent (transient) salmon-colored rash. Still’s disease was first described in children, but it is now known to occur, much less commonly, in adults. There have been a number of schools of thought. One is that Still’s disease is due to infection with a microbe. Another concept is that Still’s disease is a hypersensitive or autoimmune disorder. In truth, the cause of Still’s disease is still not known. Patients with Still’s Disease usually present with systemic (body wide) symptoms. Extreme fatigue can accompany waves of high fevers that rise to 104 degrees F (41 degrees C) or even higher and rapidly return to normal levels or below. A faint salmon-colored skin rash characteristically comes and goes and usually does not itch (picture of the Still’s rash).

There is commonly swelling of the lymph glands, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and sore throat. Some patients develop inflammation of the lungs (pleuritis) or around the heart (pericarditis) with occasional fluid accumulation around the lungs (pleural effusion) or heart (pericardial effusion). Although the arthritis may initially be overlooked because of the impressive nature of the systemic symptoms, everyone with Still’s Disease eventually develops joint pain and swelling. This usually involves many joints (polyarticular arthritis). Any joint can be affected, although there are preferential patterns of joint involvement in Still’s Disease.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of chronic inflammation of the spine and the sacroiliac joints. The sacroiliac joints are located in the low back where the sacrum (the bone directly above the tailbone) meets the iliac bones (bones on either side of the upper buttocks). Chronic inflammation in these areas causes pain and stiffness in and around the spine. Over time, chronic spinal inflammation (spondylitis) can lead to a complete cementing together (fusion) of the vertebrae, a process referred to as ankylosis. Ankylosis leads to loss of mobility of the spine. This disease is also a systemic rheumatic disease, meaning it can affect other tissues throughout the body. Accordingly, it can cause inflammation in or injury to other joints away from the spine, as well as other organs, such as the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys. The tendency to develop ankylosing spondylitis is believed to be genetically inherited, and the majority (nearly 90%) of patients with ankylosing spondylitis are born with the HLA-B27 gene.

Secondary to other diseases: Lupus erythematosus, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Psoriatic arthritis, Reactive arthritis, Haemochromatosis, Hepatitis, Wegener’s granulomatosis (and many other vasculitis syndromes), Lyme disease, Familial Mediterranean fever, Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever, TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome, Inflammatory bowel disease (Including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis).