rheumatoid arthritis

• It is an autoimmune(If the immune system malfunctions) and inflammatory disease(where the immune system causes inflammation by mistakenly attacking your healthy cells or tissue)​
• in RA it mainly attacks the joints is could be one or multiple joints at once. Due to the recurring inflammation cartilage and  nearby bones are damaged in the process ​
• Due to the immune system attacking healthy cells it cause inflammation meaning it swells a that part of the body 
• it’s is not clear what exactly  causes RA However it is shown that women have a higher risk of getting RA. However it could also be caused by family history if they smoke ​
• Symptoms:​

  joint pain ​

  stiffness in the joints ​

  swelling warmth and redness near the joints ​

  lack of energy ​

  -high temperature ​

  -sweating ​

  lack of appetite ​

  -weight loss ​

  -dry eyes ( if eyes are affected ​

  -chest pain ( if heart or lungs are affected )​
• The GP Will order Various blood tests like:​

  Erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)- which assess levels of inflammation ​

  C-Reactive protein(CRP)- Measures your inflammation levels ​

  Full blood count- this is so that the GP can rule out other possible causes for your symptoms 
• In RA the body attacks healthy cells meaning  there will be more antibodies in the cells. One example of this  would be Anti-CCP( anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide) ​
• when the immune system attacks the body it is normally the joints line cells that are mistakenly attacked  which can also cause swelling and can sometime turn red. Due to the inflammation inside the body it can cause exhaustion which leads to lack off energy. The reason that they also have high temperature might be due to the treatment making them more susceptible to infection or the body not being able to attack infection.