Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

In the early stages, people with RA may not initially see redness or swelling in the joints, but they may experience tenderness and pain.

These following joint symptoms are clues to RA:

• Joint pain, tenderness, swelling or stiffness for six weeks or longer
• Morning stiffness for 30 minutes or longer
• More than one joint is affected
• Small joints (wrists, certain joints of the hands and feet) are affected
• The same joints on both sides of the body are affected

Along with pain, many people experience fatigue, loss of appetite and a low-grade fever.

The symptoms and effects of RA may come and go. A period of high disease activity (increases in inflammation and other symptoms) is called a flare. A flare can last for days or months.

Ongoing high levels of inflammation can cause problems throughout the body. Here of some ways RA can affect organs and body systems:

• Eyes. Dryness, pain, redness, sensitivity to light and impaired vision
• Mouth. Dryness and gum irritation or infection
• Skin. Rheumatoid nodules – small lumps under the skin over bony areas
• Lungs. Inflammation and scarring that can lead to shortness of breath
• Blood Vessels. Inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to damage in the nerves, skin and other organs
• Blood. Anemia, a lower than normal number of red blood cells