In some children, juvenile arthritis will continue into the adult years, while others will see a permanent remission of their symptoms.
Sometimes juvenile arthritis will go away by the time a child reaches adulthood, but for other people, it will continue to cause pain.
Early symptoms
Pain, swelling, and morning stiffness are the main symptoms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. But a child often won’t complain about pain, so parents have to look for other signs. If a joint in the leg is affected, a child will usually limp, or parents will be able to see swelling in the ankle or knee. Children who have arthritis in their wrists will have problems writing, fastening buttons, or using their hands in other ways.
Children who are stiff in the morning may have trouble getting out of bed or may move slowly after getting up.
In systemic juvenile arthritis, the joints and some internal organs become inflamed. The first signs are often a high fever and rash, followed by joint pain and swelling.
Flares and Remission
Children with juvenile arthritis typically experience flares, when their symptoms get worse, and periods of remissions, when their symptoms go away and they don’t need medication. Most of the time, these flares are unpredictable. “Sometimes a flare will be caused by a virus or an upper respiratory illness, but most of the time we have no explanation.
Drug treatment seems to have a role in remission, however. Once the arthritis is controlled by medications for 6 to 12 months, a pediatric rheumatologist may slowly taper off the medication to see if the disease comes back, he says. If it doesn’t, the arthritis is considered to be in remission.
Juvenile Arthritis Progression
Over time, children with oligoarthritis (arthritis that affects four or fewer joints) tend to outgrow arthritis. But for some, the arthritis can go on to affect more joints.
Adulthood and Juvenile Arthritis
The blood of some children with polyarthritis tests positive for rheumatoid factor, which is also found in adults with rheumatoid arthritis. These children have a progressive form of arthritis that tends to follow them into adulthood.
For children who test negative for rheumatoid factor, the progression is variable. Some will find that their arthritis symptoms go away over time, while others will not.
About half of children who have systemic arthritis will also have it as adults. They’ll usually see the rash and fever of systemic arthritis go away when they become adults, but if the arthritis stays, it’s more painful in adulthood.
Drug treatment is making things much easier for children with juvenile arthritis compared to what was available 10 years ago. With treatment most kids can get back to all the activities that their painful, swollen joints kept them from doing in the first place.
