Rheumatologic diseases affect more than a million children each year in the United States of America. Research in the field of pediatric rheumatology is being given utmost importance, considering the occurrence of the disease in such big numbers in young children.
Types Of Paediatric Rheumatology Disorders
The most common pediatric rheumatoid diseases include juvenile idiopathic arthritis and lupus. These disease affects almost half of all the kids suffering from rheumatoid diseases.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis or JIA is also known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or JRA. This is a condition that causes inflammation in the joints of the affected child. Children may develop this disorder at any time between the age of 6 months to 16 years.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that makes the body’s immune system attack healthy cells. Lupus diagnosis requires evaluation by highly trained specialists, owing to its completely unpredictable nature.
Symptoms Of JIA And Lupus
The most common symptom of JIA is pain. The pain may not be bad enough for the child to complain about it. The usual way the pain is detected is by observing the children after they wake up in the morning or immediately after they are awake from a nap. A child in pain due to JIA might have a limp while walking immediately after a prolonged period of rest. Swelling, and tenderness and stiffness of joints are other common symptoms of JIA. The occurrence of JIA is also characterized by fever, rashes or swollen lymph nodes.
Common symptoms of lupus include stiff and swollen joints, fatigue, rashes, fever, cold hands depression, sensitivity to light, headaches, mouth sores, seizures and chest pain. The symptoms of lupus may change, may disappear and reappear later. More than half of pediatric lupus patients are teenagers. Teenage girls are far more likely to be affected by lupus than boys of the same age. Children of Asian, African American and Latino descent are a higher risk category for lupus.
Other lesser-known rheumatoid diseases include scleroderma, Lyme arthritis, fibromyalgia, Raynaud’s phenomenon and HSP. All these variations of rheumatoid diseases require continuous and vigilant monitoring as well as specialized care.
Extensive research and clinical trials are being conducted by leading medical institutions across the U.S. in the field of pediatric rheumatology. Focus is given to the diagnosis, treatment and symptoms management of the disease with the help of new and improved therapies. Early diagnosis can considerably help in the prevention of the disease and the progression of its symptoms.