Is RA a serious disease?
RA is a very serious autoimmune disease, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues and causes severe joint pain, stiffness, severe fatigue, and sometimes deformity, usually in the hands, shoulders, knees, and/or feet.
How does RA feel?
A person with RA may feel intense pain in their joints during flares. This may feel like sustained pressure, a burning sensation, or a sharp pain. However, people with RA may also experience periods of remission when they feel few to no symptoms. In addition to causing pain in the joints, RA can affect the whole body.
Does RA affect your teeth?
Pain from these autoimmune diseases can make it difficult for some people to brush or floss their teeth. A study conducted at the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center found that gum disease and tooth loss are more prevalent in people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
What is the life expectancy of someone with rheumatoid arthritis?
What is the life expectancy of a person with rheumatoid arthritis? RA can reduce a person’s life expectancy by as much as 10 to 15 years, although many people live with their symptoms beyond the age of 80 or even 90 years.
How can you tell if you have rheumatoid arthritis?
Joint stiffness
What is rheumatoid arthritis and how is it treated?
Joint replacement — surgeons remove part of your damaged joint and insert a prosthetic (artificial) replacement
Who is more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis?
Women are up to three times more likely to develop RA than men. Women are also more likely to develop the disease at a younger age than men. RA generally begins to affect people between the ages of 30 and 60 years old. The average person doesn’t develop symptoms of RA until they reach their 60’s.