Core tip: chronic arthritis is not the "patent" of adults, and there are many children suffering from it, and it is easy to be mistaken by parents for growth pain. How to know whether the child is arthritic? We can focus on whether the child's joints are swollen and deformed, especially if the child wakes up in the morning with stiff limbs.

Chronic arthritis is not the "patent" of adults, and there are many children who suffer from it, and it is easy to be mistaken by parents for growth pain.

Arthritis under the age of 16 is called children's arthritis, but in clinical practice, only a few months old infants may suffer from it. Experts said that the symptoms of chronic arthritis in children are the same as those in adults, mainly due to redness, swelling, heat and pain in the joints of the body and affected activities. Remind parents that if children's joints are found to be red, swollen, hot, painful or affected, they should go to the Rheumatology Department in time. Arthritis in children is more than just joint pain. Delaying treatment can affect growth and development, resulting in joint deformation and even blindness.

　　 Going to the doctor too late will affect joint development

From outpatient cases, although children's arthritis is not common, it is not rare. There is no significant difference in the incidence of boys and girls, and it may also occur at any joint. A characteristic manifestation of arthritis is joint stiffness, which occurs after a long rest. Especially in the morning, children who are prone to symptoms (morning stiffness) often keep their joints in the semi flexion position in order to reduce pain. Among them, the boy's sacroiliac joint disease is more common, but also manifested as low back pain.

Experts explained that the cause of children's arthritis is still unclear, which is related to the autoimmune system. It is not a genetic disease, but there are some genetic factors that make children susceptible to diseases. Because of this, this disease is difficult to prevent, and can only be avoided by early detection and early treatment. If the parents find that the child's joint parts are red and swollen, and the child complains of heat pain, they should pay attention to this problem and go to the specialist for examination.

The harm of children's chronic arthritis is not only joint pain, but also pain, redness and swelling of some children's fingers, toes, wrists, knees and other joints. In the most serious cases, they can not even wear clothes and walk, and there are external symptoms of fever. Doctors remind that seeing a doctor too late will cause children to have joint deformation, or even permanent joint deformity. Among them, there is a kind of arthritis called "oligoarthritic type", which can also affect the eyes and cause eye diseases, and even lead to vision loss or blindness in serious cases. At present, the treatment methods of the hospital include taking medicine, injection, etc., to relieve pain and prevent joint deformation.

Children's arthritis is a chronic disease, and there is the possibility of drug withdrawal and seizure. Therefore, children should be treated in time whenever they get sick to maintain normal joint function.

　　 Overweight increases joint burden

Many people believe that arthritis is related to the humid environment. In fact, chronic arthritis in children is an autoimmune disease, which has no obvious relationship with the environment and climate. However, if the child is diagnosed with arthritis, parents should pay attention to the warmth of the child's joints and reduce their activities during the acute attack of pain.

Some people believe that children's chronic arthritis is the result of the interaction of genetic factors and dietary structure and other factors. For example, today's children eat too much junk food, but lack of exercise. Overweight is one of the reasons for the increased incidence. Indeed, sitting still will aggravate the pain and stiffness of joints. If you add factors such as overweight, it will be a heavy blow to joints. Therefore, parents should also let children adhere to a healthy lifestyle, do more sports, pay attention to balanced diet, and avoid overweight.

■ Identify children's arthritis

The child limped when walking without being injured

Joint swelling and deformation

have a fever

Wake up in the morning and be stiff

Children are suddenly unwilling to walk or play

The words written by older children become illegible

Growth pain vs arthralgia

The symptoms of children's arthritis are swelling, pain and stiffness of children's knees, elbows, wrists and ankles. Knee pain and leg pain are very similar to growth pain, so they are often ignored or misdiagnosed. Experts say there is a clear difference between the two.