Juvenile Arthritis
There is a general notion that people prone to arthritis are generally of the age group 60-65. While this is true to some extent, even people in other age groups can get arthritis. In fact Juvenile Arthritis is a variant of arthritis which affects kids and teenagers also. If your kid has swollen joints for long, then get a consult with the specialist because when treated at the right time, Juvenile Arthritis (JA) can be cured. A recent survey showed that more than 100,000 people under the age of 16 suffer from Juvenile Arthritis in the United States alone.
While the symptoms of JA are very mild in nature, the long term damages are very few in these cases. In fact, studies show that most of the people who are affected by JA eventually overcome the disease completely and lead a normal life. Having said that, there have also been cases where Juvenile Arthritis was not treated effectively and the disease stays for like 10 years. Since the bones and tissues are still developing in a child, JA if not treated could cause some damage to the growth of bones and tissues. Basically, when the kid has JA, the joints swell and become stiff. Due to this either there is damage to the growth of the bones or the joints grow in abnormal directions leading to further discomfort.
Some of the symptoms that are associated with Juvenile Arthritis are morning limp, complaining of joint pain, swelling of joints, complaining of in the eye due to bright light (called iridocyclitis, if not treated could lead to permanent damage), etc.
JA can be diagnosed with the help of an X-ray and some blood tests. Be sure to explain to your doctor all the symptoms and the timeline of it as well. This will help in better diagnosis
If you are looking for treatment related to Juvenile Arthritis, you will need to consult a pediatric rheumatologist. Since it is a very young age, maximum effort should be done to stop any sort of permanent damage to the joints and bones. Apart from that, it should be a combination of pain management, anti inflammatory to reduce the swelling and prevent any other sort of complications which will affect the full movement of joints. Physical therapy could take you a long way in this.
Based on the symptoms seen in the Juvenile Arthritis, doctors classify it into three different categories namely pauciarticular, polyarticular and systemic. The first kind of JA is generally seen in kids of age group below 8 and is a mild one. It affects 4 or less number of joints mostly knees, ankle and wrists. The second kind (polyarticular Juvenile Arthritis) is affects 5 or more number of joints but smaller ones. This is often compared with the rheumatoid arthritis which is seen in adults. Now, the last kind is seen among 20% of the kids. While it causes severe pain in a number of joints, only a few cases are known to have developed it into their adulthood.