hasegawa
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Joined: 18 Feb 2005
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 Posted: 11/04/05 - 12:08 Post subject: |
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Reactive arthritis is caused by bacteria, which travels through the body to joints, which eventually swell, become stiff and painful. It most often appears in knees, ankles and toes- in lower limbs, but upper limbs are no exclusion. It also affects eyes, skin or muscles and in this case it is called reiter’s syndrome (when affects areas besies the joints).
Reactive arthritis is common both in men and women and it usually affects people between the age 20 and 50. There is one “rule” with reactive arthritis, namely some people are more likely to get reactive arthritis. These are people who have a certain type of body tissue, called HLA-B27, and it occurs in only a small number of all people (for example, it is more even more rare to find HLA-B27 in people of African descent). People get their tissue type from their parents, just as they do hair color and blood type. Approximately 50% of reactive arthritis patients are HLA-B27 positive.
Besides, anyone who is susceptible to developing food poisoning can also develop reactive arthritis.
If you have reactive arthritis you will probably develop the warning signs within a few weeks after you've had an infection. The infection may have been food poisoning or another illness of the intestine. It could also have been Chlamydia. Most obvious sign is stiffness, pain and swelling in a joint that seems to have come on for no reason. The area may also be red and hot. Sign is also pain in the lower back, or on the heel or bottom of the foot. Pain and stiffness may be worse in the morning. The eyes may feel sore or sensitive to sunlight. Also, sores may appear in the mouth or on the genitals, but may be painful or painless.
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