Rashes: When RA-related inflammation of the blood vessels (called vasculitis) affects the skin, a rash of small red dots is the result. In more severe cases, vasculitis can cause skin ulcers on the legs or under the nails. Controlling the rash or ulcers requires controlling the underlying inflammation.
Rheumatoid arthritis can affect your skin in many ways, from rashes to painful lumps. Thankfully, there are ways to treat these mostly rare conditions.
Rheumatoid nodules are the most common RA skin symptom, found in about a quarter of people with RA. They're firm, raised bumps, usually round in shape, and typically on or around joints that are already inflamed by RA. This most often includes the knuckles, wrist, elbow, knee or the back of your heel.
“Many people with RA experience swelling, changes in the shape of their hands and feet, weight gain or loss, and difficulty walking. These body changes can affect how a person views herself and her body,” says Helen L.
Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips and shoulders.
The most common eye-related symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is dryness. Dry eyes are prone to infection, and if untreated, severe dry eyes can cause damage to the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped surface of the eye that helps your eye focus.
People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may appear to age faster than those who don't have the disease, but in reality, this may just be a reflection of the fact people with RA have shorter life expectancies, according to one study in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
RA is a very serious autoimmune disease, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues and causes severe joint pain, stiffness, severe fatigue, and sometimes deformity, usually in the hands, shoulders, knees, and/or feet.
The Bright Side
Sun helps the body synthesize vitamin D, which is essential for bone health and a well-functioning immune system; vitamin D deficiency has been linked to autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sometimes experience itchy skin. This may be due to the condition itself, the medications they are taking, or another condition, such as eczema. Switching medications with a doctor's approval may be an option. Home remedies can also provide relief.
Overexertion, poor sleep, stress or an infection like the flu can all set off RA symptoms. With a predictable flare you'll temporarily feel worse, but your symptoms will resolve in time. Unpredictable flares have more uncertainty associated with them.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you're at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is a general term that describes conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, and it includes life-threatening problems such as heart attack and stroke.
A person with RA may feel intense pain in their joints during flares. This may feel like sustained pressure, a burning sensation, or a sharp pain. However, people with RA may also experience periods of remission when they feel few to no symptoms. In addition to causing pain in the joints, RA can affect the whole body.
Try to get plenty of rest during a flare-up, when your joints can be particularly painful and inflamed. Putting further strain on very swollen and painful joints can often make the pain and inflammation worse.
RA can shorten your life expectancy by an average of 10 years compared to people who don't have the disease. But people with RA are living longer than ever before. Though the disease may still affect life expectancy, it doesn't have as much impact as it did in the past.
Most people have symptoms of RA between ages 30 and 60, but men are unlikely to be diagnosed under age 45. 2 Across both men and women, the median age of onset is 58. RA can be categorized as young-onset rheumatoid arthritis (YORA) and later-onset rheumatoid arthritis (LORA).
It's possible to live a long life with RA, but it is estimated that the disease can potentially reduce life expectancy by 3 to 10 years.
The effects of rheumatoid arthritis
In addition to general health complications, RA can cause you to develop serious oral conditions, such as: Gingivitis, a mild form of gum disease that causes swollen and tender gums. Periodontitis, an inflammatory condition affecting the bone and tissue supporting the teeth.
A lot of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report having trouble with memory, attention, and mental focus. They forget names and appointments, struggle to find the right words and have trouble making and carrying out plans.
People with autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus, can experience hair loss as a troubling symptom of their disease. Other times though, the cause of the shedding locks could be the medications used to treat the disease.