The existence of arthritis in children is doubted by some people and even doctors. Nevertheless the condition happens and the fact that it is rare doesn’t make it unimportant. Sometimes children have to suffer for months and years before they are relieved. The greatest problem is that adults can be oblivious of the condition because of the superstition that arthritis is a characteristic of old age and not children. So little is known about the symptoms and progress of the illness in such early age that by the time when the diagnosis is stated it can be too late for any treatment.

Arthritis in children is not a common condition. It affects one child from 1,000 a year and in most cases it flows mildly, although severe cases are also known. The most frequent reason of arthritis appearance in children is earlier experience of a viral or bacterial infection. In this case the condition is severe but it relieves soon enough. Contrariwise juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA, is an almost chronic condition and it is able to preserve for a long time. Other names are juvenile arthritis, juvenile arthritis of unknown cause or juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis has three main forms according to the way how it starts. They are: pauciarticular, a condition when less than four joints are affected; polyarticular, when four or more joints are influenced; and systemic-onset, which means inflammation of the joints accompanied with high fevers and rash.

But juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is not the only condition of the kind that can affect children. JRA is more often met in younger children while other conditions are more common for older ages and teenagers. They are: rheumatoid factor-positive arthritis, when the small joints in the hands and feet are affected a little, and spondyloarthropathy. The later is in the same family with arthritis though it differs in the way that it affects large joints (i.e. hips). It is also remarkable because of its asymmetric character (the bodily parts are affected asymmetrically) and the fact that the inflammation takes place not only in the joints but also touches tendons and ligaments.

In some cases psoriasis can also lead to development of the condition named psoriatic arthritis. But as long as psoriasis usually affects several members of the family, it makes the case easier to be diagnosed.