What You Ought to Know About Reactive Arthritis

ReA also known as reactive arthritis is not the actual illness itself, but rather an autoimmune response to any type of infection in any part of the body.

In its simplest term, this type of arthritis is the natural reaction of the body when it encounters a particularly virulent strain of bacteria. This medical condition is highly dependent on the onset of another, more grievous ailment; hence the term, "reactive" or reacting to another.

These infections are not only dangerous and potentially life threatening; but its aftermath leaves so many drastic changes in the body that trying to sort out the initial cause may take some time. And while that goes on, the symptoms of ReA also escalate.

To make matters worse, it sometimes takes 1 to 3 weeks after initial infection before a person develops ReA. Some people are therefore more likely to believe that these aches may be irrelevant to the earlier ailment, and would delay medical consultation. This can be unfavorable to the person because arthritis has a high debilitating rate.

It is essential that this condition is detected and handled with at its earliest stage so that no permanent damage can happen to the affected joints. Unfortunately, without the correct diagnosis and the recommended treatment option, the symptoms of ReA would not go away on its own. It is necessary to treat the first condition before any successful arthritis treatment option can work.

As such, reactive arthritis is commonly triggered by a bout of bacterial infection - but fungal and viral infections are not unheard of. Some of the most common bacterial infections that lead to reactive arthritis are: Campylobacter spp., Chylamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Yersinia spp. Bacterial infection through food poisoning may also lead to this painful condition. Fungal infection after an unhealed fracture or trauma of the bone is another likely culprit. Virulent viruses, especially the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV can have ReA as one of its degenerative aftermaths.

Although this kind of arthritis may have different causes, health care providers can usually detect the onset of this medical condition via 3 avenues: the eyes, the knees and the urinary tract.

The patient usually complains of pains at the back of the eyes, and there are visible inflamed areas either all over the eyeball (conjunctivitis) or in the middle layer of one or both eyes (uveitis.) The larger joints of the knees are also severely affected that the person has a hard time bending these without pain, or using these to sustain his or her weight while walking. The joints of the hips and the joints that attach the shoulder and the forearms are also likely candidates for pain. And lastly, reactive arthritis can also cause a burning sensation in the urinary tract, while also increasing the frequency that a person has to urinate per day. These conditions are called dysuria and polyuria, respectively.

For people who have acquired genital bacteria, other urinary tract complications may occur like cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix); salpingitis (infection of the fallopian tubes); and vulvovaginitis (inflammation of the vaginal mucosa) in women. Meanwhile, men may suffer from prostatitis or the infection of the prostate glands.