Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, debilitating autoimmune condition that can develop at any age. The disease is chronic, which means that it can last for years, or lifetimes in some cases. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can vary, and it is essential to be aware of them to recognize them as soon as possible.
As it happens in most diseases, the sooner you start the diagnosis, the better prognosis you will have. Thus, recognizing the illness is very important, and that’s why we have devoted an entire article to talking about the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
If you find these symptoms in yourself or your loved ones, it could be a good idea to visit your doctor and get a complete physical exam and a diagnosis. The symptoms listed above are not all exclusive to rheumatoid arthritis. You can have other conditions and still experience something similar. Thus, only a doctor can tell you if you have this disease or another.
In most cases, the manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis will include the following signs and symptoms:
1) Insidious Onset of Early Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, and it can be a painful condition, but some people don’t realize they have a severe illness when it starts. That’s because it is not as severe as we might think in the first stage of the disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis develops very gradually, and sudden onset is very rare. Thus, many patients get used to feeling some discomfort and soreness in their joints, but when it becomes slowly worse, they look for medical help.
In some cases, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis includes systemic features such as fever and malaise. Even the best doctor won’t be able to diagnose the disease with these signs and symptoms because they can be triggered by almost anything.
Thus, the initial stage of the disease usually features signs and symptoms you could take for granted as a general sensation of not feeling well.