my 4 yr old daughter was just diegnosed with juviniel rumitoid arthritus?

Question

dose any one know anything about this? i could use some answeres from someone who can shed some lite on the subject.

Answer 1

I have RA and am on a message board for those of us with JRA, RA and other types of autoimmune diseases... the first thing is to get her on meds that will stop the pain and swelling... stop joint damage as son as possible...

come to 4ratalk.com and ask around.. lots of people on there from around the world that had JRA as kids and still have RA...

lots of friends and TONS of info there.. come visit

Answer 2

Wow so sorry to hear of this!!

It is very painful and sometimes crippling condition that has no cure. Flair ups are very painful!! Read all you can there is plenty of web sites on the computer for RA.

I just went through a series of blood tests for the RA. My fingers are crippling so our my toes and I am much older then your little girl. That doctor again told me nothing I can do about my condition. This doctor is very angry I have went off his drugs onto natural ways....

13 is when I was diagnosed with arthritis. Back then kids did not get any kinds of arthritis conditions...

Good luck and read read read!

Answer 3

I was touched by a mother's love. These are what I found for you:

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA), is the most common form of persistent arthritis in children. Arthritis means inflammation of the synovium (the lining tissues) of a joint.

Symptoms of JIA are often non-specific initially, and include lethargy, reduced physical activity, and poor appetite. The first manifestation, particularly in young children, may be limping. The cardinal clinical feature is persistent swelling of the affected joint(s), which commonly include the knee, ankle, wrist and small joints of the hands and feet. Swelling may be difficult to detect clinically, especially for joints such as those of the spine, sacroiliac joints, shoulder, hip and jaw, where imaging techniques such as ultrasound or MRI are very useful.

Pain is an important feature of JIA, but young children may have difficulty in communicating this symptom. Late effects of arthritis include joint contracture (stiff, bent joint) and joint damage. Children with JIA vary in the degree to which they are affected by particular symptoms.

Associated Complications
1. Eye disease: JIA is associated with inflammation in the front of the eye (chronic anterior uveitis). This complication may not have any symptoms and can be detected by an experienced ophthalmologist using a slit lamp. Most children with JIA are enrolled in a regular slit lamp screening program, as poorly controlled chronic anterior uveitis may result in permanent eye damage, including blindness.

2. Growth disturbance: Children with JIA may have reduced overall rate of growth, especially if the disease involves many joints or other body systems. Paradoxically, individually affected large joints (such as the knee) may grow faster, due to inflammation - induced, increased blood supply to the bone growth plates situated near the joints.

Treatment
The treatment of JIA is best undertaken by an experienced team of health professionals, including paediatric rheumatologists, nurse specialists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors and psychologists. Many others in the wider health and school communities also have valuable roles to play, such as ophthalmologists, dentists, orthopaedic surgeons, school nurses and teachers, careers advisors and, of course local general practitioners, paediatricians and rheumatologists. It is essential that every effort is made to involve the affected child and their family in disease education and balanced treatment decisions.

There have been very beneficial advances in drug treatment over the last 20 years. Most children are treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and intra-articular corticosteroid injections. Methotrexate is a powerful drug which helps suppress joint inflammation in the majority of JIA patients with polyarthritis and systemic arthritis. Newer drugs have been developed recently, such as TNF alpha blockers, which appear to be effective in severe JIA. There is little or no controlled evidence to support the use of alternative remedies such as specific dietary exclusions, homeopathic treatment or acupuncture.

Take care. (Prof Hao/Green)

Answer 4

http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/hw104391

check out this web site, read it, use the links. There is plenty of information on the web, you need only look for it.