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What is childhood arthritis?

Childhood arthritis is a disease that occurs in children under the age of 16. It causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in one or more of the joints. This pain, stiffness, and swelling are called inflammation. With childhood arthritis, the inflammation lasts longer than six weeks, and is not caused by an injury or other illness. Childhood arthritis is also called juvenile arthritis.

How common is childhood arthritis? It affects 1 in 1,000 US children under the age of 16. Both boys and girls are affected by childhood arthritis. Arthritis is not just a disease of old people. In fact, approximately one in 1,000 children under the age of 16 suffers from arthritis. Juvenile arthritis is among the most common chronic childhood disorders.

What causes childhood arthritis? The exact cause of childhood arthritis is unknown. Childhood arthritis does not usually run in families and cannot be passed from one person to another. The onset of childhood arthritis may follow an infection or injury, but these events do not cause the arthritis. With childhood arthritis, the body’s immune system stops working properly. The immune system’s job is to fight off germs and disease. However, in a child with childhood arthritis the immune system attacks healthy tissues. What triggers this process is unknown.

What can you do about childhood arthritis? If your child has inflammation, in one or more joints for more than six weeks your doctor may perform a physical examination of your child and order tests, such as x-rays and blood tests to find out what is causing the inflammation. There is not just one single symptom, sign, or test that will give a diagnosis of childhood arthritis.

If your doctor thinks your child has childhood arthritis, he or she will usually refer your child to a rheumatologist (pronounced room-a-tol-o-jist). A rheumatologist is a doctor who has received special training in the diagnosis and treatment of problems involving inflammation of the joints, muscles and other parts of the body.

About The Author
For more information, visit www.ArthritisInfoCenter.com

Marfan Syndrome is a relatively unknown hereditary disorder that affects a person’s connective tissue. Since connective tissue makes up so much our bodies, this syndrome can affect nearly all parts of the body, including vital organ systems, which may include the lungs, skeleton, heart, blood vessels, eyes, and joints.

Marfan Syndrome is relatively rare, and can affect men and women from all backgrounds. However, it has a strong hereditary factor: if your mother or father has Marfan Syndrome, there is a good chance that you have it as well. Because of the systematic nature of this disorder, Marfan Syndrome can have a strong effect on the patient’s overall health. Marfan Syndrome patients are more prone to developing some form of arthritis because the condition can affect joint, bone, and muscle health.

What causes Marfan Syndrome?

Researchers have pared down this somewhat rare condition to a defect in one targeted gene. It appears that people with Marfan Syndrome are all born with a defect in the gene that is responsible for the structure of fibrillin. Fibrillin is a protein that is instrumental in building connective tissue. Most of the time, this defective gene is inherited from one or both parents who also carry this gene.

How do you know if you carry this gene?

New genetic tests can determine the presence of this gene, although these types of tests are usually not necessary. Most of the time, patients will manifest external signs of the syndrome. People with Marfan Syndrome tend to be very tall, loose-jointed, and somewhat slender. Many people with Marfan Syndrome often have long bones, including long arms, legs, fingers, and toes. The bones tend to be longer in relation to the rest of the body. Other physical characteristics of Marfan Syndrome include a long, narrow face, the presence of a protruding breastbone, flat feet, and a curved spine. The mouths of Marfan Syndrome patients often share several features, which include an arched roof of the mouth, and excessive teeth crowding.

More often than not, the most damaging aspects of Marfan Syndrome is that it can cause skeletal deformities, heart problems, blood vessel abnormalities, abdominal hernias, and problems with eyesight. Marfan Syndrome patients are at a greater risk for developing any number of types of arthritis. Common eye problems include dislocation of the lenses and retinal detachment. Marfan Syndrome patients are also at a greater risk for developing severe heart and blood vessel problems. In many cases, the heart valve located between the left chambers may become soft and enlarged, causing an irregular valve motion that can result in a heart murmur, and in more advanced cases, aneurysm.

Treatment for Marfan Syndrome can be difficult since there is no cure for this condition. Rather, treatment consists of monitoring the condition carefully and managing any symptoms that may arise. Marfan Syndrome is still a relatively unknown condition, so patients must seek out attention from doctors who are familiar with the condition. Most Marfan Syndrome patients must undergo an annual skeletal evaluation to ensure spinal health and to uncover any changes in the spine or sternum. Regular visual examinations are also recommended to prevent serious eye complications from developing.

The Risk

Arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia are autoimmune diseases. They are the result of an over-regulated or under-regulated immune system that mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy cells.

White blood cells, or lymphocytes, play a critical role in the immune system. They are the cells that bind with and disable germ cells. The fluid that surrounds the body’s joints is filled with lymphocytes, which is one reason these areas swell and become painful when you are fighting off an infection.

In an arthritic body, these lymphocytes mistakenly attack healthy cells. Because lymphocytes are so concentrated near the joints, they do considerable damage to the bone and soft tissue.

When acid waste accumulates in your body, the immune system is compromised. The acid damages and disorients the lymphocytes. Thus, if you don’t have arthritis or a similar autoimmune disease yet, but your body is acidic, you are at risk. If you already suffer from arthritis, excessive acid will intensify the damage.

The Damage

When lymphocytes attack healthy cells near the joints, they create acid waste as a by-product. This acid collects around the joints and causes further swelling and degeneration. The acid also poisons the damaged lymphocytes, disorienting them further and causing them to attack additional healthy cells.

As the lymphocytes attack healthy cells, germ cells freely invade the body and multiply. The germ cells attack healthy cells, release bacteria that produce acid waste, and then die out and become acid waste themselves. The body’s pH level continues to become more acidic.

The acidic body environment also damages the nervous system. This is bad news for anyone suffering from fibromyalgia, another type of autoimmune illness that’s characterized by inflammation of the soft tissue and myofascia, or muscle covering. The nervous system damage causes pain impulses to spread globally throughout the body. Thus, acidity can worsen the severity of fibromyalgia.

High levels of acid also lead to osteoporosis. Not only does the acid eat into the bone, causing loss of bone mass, but the body also leaches calcium from the bones. The body uses calcium to solidify acid in an attempt to store it safely away from the body’s organs. Therefore a highly acidic body suffers extreme calcium depletion. Calcified acids deposited in joints and on the surfaces of bone lead to osteoarthritis.

The Benefits Of A Balanced pH

Fortunately, a significant reduction in your body’s acid level can lead to regeneration of healthy cells and tissue. A diet that’s more alkaline can help you reverse the damage caused by acidity and arthritis.

The right combination of fresh vegetable juices, for example, can help your body break down and destroy excessive acid waste. To prevent acid from accumulating further, you should eliminate sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Vitamin and mineral supplements specially formulated to balance pH are an important part of your strategy as well.

If you start to balance your pH level through supplements and easy-to-learn diet and lifestyle changes, you will reduce your vulnerability to arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. You can look forward to greatly improved health.

If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself you need to take a proactive approach. Don’t expect to feed your body processed foods, not exercise, then pop a pill and be all better… it just doesn’t work that way.

About The Author
If you want to bring your body into pH balance then you need a complete approach. A great place to start is the Immersion Kit, you can learn more by going to http://www.pH-health.com

Did you know that there are over 100 different types of arthritis? One of these is gout, an ancient disease that has been mentioned in written records for thousands of years. Gout persists — even today there are an estimated half million people in the United States alone who suffer from this often painful condition. It’s estimated that gout accounts for roughly five per cent of arthritis cases in the United States.

Gout is described as an inflammatory form of arthritis. It can cause feelings of sharp sudden pain in some joints, accompanied by redness, warmth, swelling, and tenderness. When most people think of gout, they think of how the big toe becomes swollen. It’s common for the big toe to become affected, but there are other areas of the body that are also commonly affected. These may include the wrists, knees, heels, ankles, fingers, and elbows. The instep may also be affected. Who is more likely to develop gout? In the United States, men account for the majority of gout cases. It’s estimated that less than one in ten women develop gout. Most gout patients are men, ranging in age from 30 to 60 years.

Gout is thought to be caused by an over production of uric acid in the body. Most researchers agree that genetics play a role in the development of gout. Many people are prone to developing too much uric acid, while others appear to inherit the tendency to under process uric acid in the body, causing it to be lost in urine. Other people inherit high blood levels of uric acid. This high level of uric acid appears to cause sodium monourate crystals to collect in the synovial joint fluid. This in turn causes painful stiff joints, resulting in gout.

Another possible cause of gout is that it may develop as a result of other conditions. While genetics play a strong role, lifestyle choices are also a big piece of the puzzle. Dietary choices have been linked to the onset of gout. Trigger foods include seafood (especially anchovies), meat proteins, beans, gravies, and sweet breads. What do all these foods have in common? They are all rich in purines, and eating too much of them has been shown to cause gout. Other things that may affect the onset of gout include crash diets. Eating recklessly, which may include eating too much or too little, may be a major contributing factor to gout.

Besides your dietary habits, gout may also be triggered by various other symptoms. These include excessive stress, excessive exercise, severe illness, joint or muscle injury, high blood pressure, and chemotherapy. All have been linked to the development of gout. One of the common denominators that medical researchers have detected is that patient’s immune systems and overall health are compromised before the onset of gout. If gout runs in your family, eating a varied and well balanced diet is important to keep this painful disease at bay.

Many fear the pain of arthritis as they age. But, it can attack anyone at any time. For those who it does strike, the pain is unbearable. It is a group of diseases of the bone joints. Each time a person moves, joints move with them. But, when arthritis lurks in the joints, pain is also lurking. Many people have mistakenly come to believe that it is a sign of growing old. In fact, it is not. There are different types of arthritis, and many ways that it can begin to consume your life.

As we stated, arthritis is actually a common name for a group of diseases of the bone joints. These diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease and certain other types of arthritis, which are caused by a bad injury, repetitive use, sports, or overexertion. Septic arthritis is caused by a joint infection. And, the most common of all is osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative disease. In this particular disease, older people are mainly the target. Their joint cartilage is simply deteriorating over time. In any of these cases, arthritis can be profoundly painful and at times, unbearable. For those who are elderly, the worst of the pain comes in the morning or after sitting for long periods. This is due to the fact that joints become stiff. Once they begin to move and keep moving, though, the pain can be mild. When arthritis strikes a young child, he or she may just stop using the limb. Weather changes can also cause increased pain in the effected area. The pain of the disease comes from the joints developing extra nerve endings. They do this to protect the joint from more damage. If it hurts more, you likely won’t use it more for fear of it getting worse. However, the stiffness sets in from lack of use and the vicious cycle continues.

What can you do if you think you may have arthritis? The first course of action is to see a doctor. The doctor will ask you questions regarding any other symptoms you may have besides the obvious pain and limited use of the joint. Fever can be a cause for septic arthritis. In this specific cause, you should seek a medical emergency team right away as it can be life threatening. In any case, the doctor will most likely have blood work done as well as x-rays. Once the type of arthritis is diagnosed, your doctor will have a better idea how to treat it. For some this may include surgery, prescription drugs, physical therapy, or a reduction in the use of the effected joints. There are other products being used as well. One of these is a collagen injection. Other treatments that have been shown to ease the pain include herbal remedies.

In the end, arthritis can be helped, and may be cured if treatment is sought and given in the right manner. If you suspect that you or someone you love is being affected by this disease, you should speak to your doctor as it can be an unnecessary pain that you or they face day in and day out. Unfortunately, arthritis can’t heal itself and does require treatment. It is simply a wise choice to get it taken care of.

About The Author
Yvonne Loubet is a Natural Therapeutic Specialist who retired from her 20-year massage therapy practice because of arthritis. She operates a website http://www.arthritispainsolution.com which provides information on an alternative arthritis treatment. More information can be found at http://www.arthritispainsolution.com/arthritis-treatment/rheumatoid-arthritis.html

There are a number of factors that can play a part in the development of arthritis. And many of these factors can work together in compounding the problem. Overall, the medical community is still struggling to get a clear picture of the basic arthritis causes. But they are aware of some of the risk factors.

Let’s take a look at some of these potential arthritis causes:

Genetics: Marfan Syndrome is a relatively unknown hereditary disorder that affects a person’s connective tissues. Since it displays many of the same symptoms as arthritis, there has been speculation that arthritis may also have a genetic component. More research is needed in this area.

Age: It’s no secret that as you age, you become more susceptible to arthritis. Now, arthritis can and does strike children and young adults. However, the body goes through natural changes as it ages, such as joint cartilage losing its flexibility and softness, that make it more likely for a person to experience this devastating condition.

Weight: If you think about it, it makes perfect sense that the greater the strain on your joints, the more likely your cartilage is going to break down and cause increased pain and discomfort in your joints. This can particularly impact a person’s knees and ankles, which carry the brunt of a person’s weight.

Injury: Damaged joints – whether the result of an accident, a sports injury or some other type of injury – can contribute to arthritis. This is particularly true in those instances where the cartilage of the joint has been damaged.

Infection: Just as an infection can impact your lungs or your blood system or other areas of your body, an infection can also cause damage to your joints. This can eventually lead to arthritis, depending on how serious the infection was and how much damage was done.

So, as you can see, while we still don’t have a clear grasp on all the arthritis causes, we do have some ideas of contributing factors. If you’re looking for a natural way to relieve your arthritis pain, there are some groundbreaking approaches. Here’s one you might want to check out: The Arthrits Remedy

this is for the causes