Management And Prevention of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis in Ayurveda

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Overview

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the most common chronic rheumatologic disease and the most frequent amongst chronic disease of children and adolescents. Nowadays, JRA often referred to as Juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA is the umbrella term for the group of chronic childhood arthritis present with inflammation of joint and stiffness of unknown cause in children below 16 years of age and persisting for at least six weeks.

Though the common occurrence of this disease is mainly observed from the ages of 7 to 12, it may also occur in infants.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

JIA affects both sexes but like other rheumatological diseases, it is more common in females.International prevalence ranges from 8 to 150 per 100,000.

JIA is an autoimmune, non infective, inflammatory joint disease of more than 6 weeks duration in commonly seen in children less than 16 years of age. The disease mainly occurs in children from the age of 1 to 6, but it may also develop after the age of 15 which may be transient and self-limited or chronic. It differs significantly from arthritis commonly seen in adults, and other different types of arthritis.

Aetiopathology is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, but with less marked cartilage erosion, joint instability and absent rheumatoid factor.

Signs and Symptoms of Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Symptoms of JIA are often non-specific initially include lethargy, reduced physical activity, and poor appetite

  • Children may be limping.
  • Children may also become quite ill
  • Flu-like symptoms persist

The cardinal clinical feature is persistent swelling of the affected joint, which commonly includes the knee, ankle, small joints of the hand and feet and wrist. Swelling may be difficult to detect clinically

SYMPTOMS:

  • Pain
  • Morning stiffness
  • Joint contracture
  • Joint damage
  • Swollen joint

Children with JIA are affected by different symptoms. Symptoms may also differ between sexes, affecting girls and boys differently among different geographical locations.

Eye problem: some cases of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis may result in eye inflammation. If the problem remains untreated, it may cause glaucoma, blindness, and cataracts can also occur.

GROWTH COMPLICATION: Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can hinder the growth of a child and proper bone development. Certain medications like corticosteroids used for the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, also inhibit child growth.

Causes of of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis:

  • The causes of juvenile arthritis are still unknown. However, the disorder is autoimmune, the immune system is thought to be provoked by changes in the environment, in combination with a mutation in many associated genes or other causes of differential expression of genes.

Associated factor that may worsen the condition are:

1. GENETIC PREDISPOSITION: The chances of getting disease  if one of our family members has a history of juvenile arthritis.

2. Females are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than males at all ages.

3. Psychologically stress may worsen the symptoms.

4. Though no distinct immune factor has been isolated as a cause of arthritis.

5. Sex hormones may play role in causing or modulating arthritis.

Classification of of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

The three major types of JIA are:

  • Oligoarticular
  • Polyarticular
  • Systemic.

HOW TO DIAGNOSE JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS:

  • For the diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis all blood test should be performed, which are discussed in the detail below:

1. ESR: ESR is done to identify the type and how much is the inflammation in the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

2. C-REACTIVE PROTEIN:  This test is done to determine the degree of inflammation but the scale of measurement is different from the ESR.

3. ANTI NUCLEAR ANTIBODY: These are the proteins which are produced in the case of an autoimmune disorder like arthritis.

4. RHEUMATOID FACTOR: This antibody is usually present in the blood of children who are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

5. CYCLIC CITRULLINATED PEPTIDE (CCP): Presence of this antibody is also the indication of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

HERBAL REMEDIES FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS:

  • In Ayurveda, there are three energies -vata, kapha and pitta are responsible for a healthy body. AGGRAVATED VATA AND KAPHA DOSHAS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR JOINT PROBLEM. Accumulation of ama (toxin) in the body causes the joints pain. There are various factors like lifestyle and improper eating habit may also result in joint pain.

HERBAL REMEDIES FOR JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Planet Ayurveda offers Herbal remedies such as RA CARE PACK for Ayurvedic treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. These medicines are prepared by following the principles of Ayurveda and use the best quality of herbs. All herbal remedies of Planet Ayurveda are 100 percent pure, vegetarian and natural. They are free from the side effects, chemical, additives, and preservatives.