Possibly Arthritis?

Who Can Have Arthritis?

Both men and women can have arthritis. Arthritis affects both children and adults, with over 350 million all around the world having the problem. In the United States alone, about 40 million individuals have arthritis, covering more than 250,000 kids. Over 27 million people in America are affected by osteoarthritis, while there are about 1.3 million rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. More than half of the people with arthritis are below 65 years old, while about 60% of all sufferers are female.

The Symptoms

There are several symptoms of arthritis. The main ones include limited function of joints and pain. The inflammation of the joints includes features like swelling, joint stiffness, warmth and redness. There can also be tenderness in the inflamed joint. Several forms of arthritis, since these are rheumatic diseases, can lead to symptoms that affect different organs of the body that may not directly include the joints. The symptoms in some patients with a form of arthritis may also involve other symptoms like gland or lymph node swelling, weight loss, fever, discomfort, fatigue and lung, kidney or heart abnormalities.