Rheumatoid arthritis, or artritis reumatoidea, is a chronic and debilitating disease that affects your joints. This form is different that osteoarthritis because it isn’t necessarily caused by wear and tear on the joints. It can also strike young people, whereas arthritis typically affects people older than 55. How can you tell if you have regular arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis? Is there anything to prevent the disease? What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of Arthritis

When you suspect arthritis, rheumatoid symptoms include severe stiffness in the morning. When you wake up, it may be hard to move and get out of bed. You might need to move slowly for thirty minutes to an hour after waking up, until you get your body “warmed up” like a car engine. The longer you are awake, the better you will feel. After heavy exercise, the joints will also be more sore.

Over time, when a person has artritis reumatoide, the joints can become deformed. Many people who have severe cases of the disease will need to be moved in to wheelchairs since their toes, feet and ankles might become unusable. A person who has rheumatoid arthritis will also have other symptoms throughout the body, whereas regular arthritis strictly affects the joints. In rheumatoid patients, they might also have chest pain, dry eyes, numbness in the fingers and toes and nodules on their skin.

Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be prevented, as genetics play a role in who contracts the disease. It is also  a disease of the immune system, so people with weaker dispositions are also prone to having it. The severity of each case will vary and taking measures to improve the diet and getting regular exercise might help with the pain, it won’t be able to prevent the condition from gradually getting worse. There are prescription drugs to treat the symptoms and the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, when only over the counter pain medicine is needed with regular arthritic patients.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet

There are certain foods to include in your arthritis diet in order to make some of your symptoms not as strong. Foods rich in vitamin C help to heal or prevent joint tissue from getting worse. The more vitamin C you can include in your diet, the better your joints will feel, especially if combined with diet and over the counter pain medication.