Arthritis

Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation) is a group of conditions that affect the health of the bone joints in the body. One in three adult Americans suffer from some form of arthritis and the disease affects about twice as many women as men.

Signs and symptoms

All arthritides feature pain, which is generally worse in the morning and on initiating movement, and resolves in the course of time. In elderly people and children, the pain may not be the main feature, and the patient simply moves less (elderly) or refuse to use the affected limb (children).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When faced with joint pain, a doctor will generally ask about several other medical symptoms (such as fever, skin symptoms, breathlessness, Raynaud's phenomenon) that may narrow down the differential diagnosis to a few items, for which testing can be done.

Related Topics:
Fever - Raynaud's phenomenon - Differential diagnosis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arthritis and fever together are pointers towards septic arthritis (see below). This is a medical emergency, and requires urgent referral to a rheumatologist.

Related Topics:
Medical emergency - Rheumatologist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~