How Bad is Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis?

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis is a child's disease that is not long term and relatively mild in its symptoms. Just like psoriatic arthritis juvenile psoriatic arthritis affects a person's joints. It is a bit like rheumatoid arthritis but not as severe.

What Causes It?

There are still a lot of question marks surrounding psoriatic arthritis. There is no real explantation as to its cause. There has been much speculation as to what causes this disease. But nothing definite has been determined and studies continue to be conducted to see if a sure cause can be uncovered.

There are some theories as to the causes. There is some evidence that points to certain genes that cause the disease. The study of the appearance of certain genes is not the only line of research being done on the disease. Other evidence points to the surroundings in which a person is raised. Since a person's environment is thought to be a factor parents who have a history of psoriatic arthritis in their family are more likely to have children with psoriatic arthritis.

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis is not an easy thing to diagnose. Sometimes it can take years for doctors to pinpoint the problem as being juvenile psoriatic arthritis. One reason is because often before there are any visual signs of redness or a rash there is pain from arthritis.

The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include extreme swelling of the affected joints such as the fingers and toes or soreness in hip joints. There is also the symptom of discolored toenails and fingernails. These have somewhat of a yellow tint. Small patches of scaly flesh can appear on a persons stomach around the belly button area, on their scalp and other places.

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis can have some deforming affects. It can cause joints to become unnaturally large due to damage to the cartilage. A persons sight can be affected and they can loose some of their mobility in the affected joints. Arms and legs and be affected by becoming longer or shorter.

If a child shows signs of juvenile psoriatic arthritis then you will want to get him in to see a doctor as soon as possible so treatment can begin. Since a significant number of children who suffer from psoriatic arthritis also have some affect to their eyes it would be good to get him to an eye doctor as well, and make sure he sees his eye doctor every year for checkups. There is treatment available so it is important to get your child the right care as soon as you discover the disease.