Symptoms and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

There are many groups of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, including the symptoms of arthritis and systemic symptoms and the symptoms in other organs.

The symptoms of arthritis:

+ Stiff joints: To limit the movement of the joints, appear in the morning after waking up, usually lasting more than 1 hour before the match soft feel.

+ Swollen joints: There may be more fluid or swelling up.

+ Hot: The skin of the affected joint may be warmer than the surrounding skin.

+ Red: Caucasian region affected joint may be pinkish, red than the surrounding skin.

Pain: Inflammation makes the joints become more sensitive, more stress, which causes painful inflammation of the joints.

The systemic symptoms:

+ Fatigue.

+ Stagnation, depression.

+ Loss of appetite, which can lead to the collapse sign.

+ Body muscle aches.

The symptoms in other agencies:

+ "Low note", can be felt under the skin, usually at the elbow joint, sometimes very painful.

+ Patients may be asymptomatic pleurisy, but when breathing is short time to treat.

+ There may affect the larynx causing hoarseness.

+ The patient may be pericarditis, often has no symptoms, but when symptoms are usually short breath or chest pain. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis easily clogged heart arteries, causing chest pain or heart attack.

+ Less than 5% of rheumatoid arthritis patients with ocular symptoms, including red eye, eye pain or dry eyes.

Diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis.

In the first phase, the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is very difficult. Physicians often have to rely on the 7 factors to diagnose this disease:

(1): Stiff joints and around the joints lasting at least 1 hour in the morning after waking up.

(2) Natural (non-injury), swollen joints or joint fluid of at least three matches.

(3) At least a little swollen joints (wrist joint, joint goals or knuckles).

(4): Expression of symmetric inflammation of the joints of the body.

(5): There are "low spots", is palpable lumps under the skin, is located in the bearing of the body (usually at the elbow joint).

(6): The rheumatoid factor (RF) is unusually high when tested.

(7): The change deformity seen on X-ray in the inflamed joint. This is a characteristic element of the late stages of rheumatoid arthritis.

When there are at least 4 of the 7 factors, and factors appear first term on 6 weeks, the patient was considered as rheumatoid arthritis.