Left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause severe damage to the joints and serious complications in the major organs.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms include red, swollen, and painful joints, reduced mobility, and reduced flexibility. Since it is a progressive disease, the symptoms typically get worse, and left untreated, RA can affect more than just the joints.
However, there are a number of effective treatments, and proper treatment is critical to managing the progression of RA.
When you develop RA, you’ll begin to have flare-ups. These are periods when your symptoms worsen. Treatment can help relieve and reduce flare-ups.
Before you get diagnosed and begin treatment, you may experience:
- joint pain, tenderness, swelling, or stiffness that lasts for six weeks or more
- morning stiffness that lasts for 30 minutes or more
- the same joints on both sides of the body being affected
- fatigue
- low-grade fever
Small joints, such as the wrists and certain joints in the hands and feet, are typically affected first. If joints in your feet are affected, you may also experience difficulty walking.
When you have RA, you’re also
This risk does not go away with treatment, as some medications for RA can also weaken your immune system.
If left untreated, the
This can cause structural changes and a loss of mobility. Of course, with the hands being the most commonly affected, this loss of mobility can cause serious issues with the quality of life.
When RA isn’t properly treated, serious complications can develop in your organs, including the skin, heart, lungs, and kidneys.
Effects on the skin
The same immune response that attacks the lining of the joints can also impact the skin. This includes blisters and lumps of inflammatory tissue under the skin called nodules, which occur in up to 20% of people diagnosed with RA.
Rheumatoid vasculitis occurs when your blood vessels become inflamed.
This most often manifests as splinter infarcts around the fingernails. In more serious instances, there may be sores, purple lesions on the legs and fingers, or large ulcers around the ankles. This is less common, affecting around 1% of individuals with RA.
Effects on the heart
People with unmanaged RA may have inflammation that damages blood vessels. Inflammation may also lead to a buildup of plaque in the arteries, which can then narrow blood vessels and block blood flow.
These blockages can
Effects on the lung
Lung problems that result from untreated RA include:
- Airway obstruction: As a result of chronic inflammation, the walls of the small airways in your lungs thicken. This can cause mucus buildup, chronic cough, weakness, and fatigue.
- Rheumatoid nodules: These appear in the lungs and are similar to those that appear under the skin. Occasionally, these nodules rupture, which could cause a lung to collapse.
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD): ILD is the most common lung disease associated with RA. This is inflammation within the lungs. A result of long-term inflammation, ILD can lead to irreversible scarring.
- Pleuritis: This is inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the lungs. Fluid can also build up between the layers of the pleura, leading to breathing difficulties and pain.
Effects on the kidneys
People with RA are more likely to develop kidney disease. This may be due to a combination of inflammation and side effects from certain RA medications.
Because of this, it’s important that your doctor monitors your kidney function regularly. Symptoms of kidney disease can include:
- fatigue
- decrease in appetite
- swelling in the ankles or feet
- darkening of the skin
- itchiness
- muscle cramping
- shortness of breath
RA Treatment
As soon as you’re diagnosed with RA, your doctor will likely prescribe disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
The main goals of DMARDs are to:
- prevent damage to bones and other organs
- improve fatigue
- decrease joint pain/swelling
These drugs, which include newer biologic medications, can also be extremely effective at slowing the progression of RA.
Your doctor may also recommend other interventions, such as regular exercise and following a diet plan. These can reduce your risk of developing complications, such as heart disease.
With so many potential complications from RA, the importance of staying on track with your treatment plan is clear.
If you have questions or concerns about any aspects of your treatment, be sure and discuss them with your doctor.
Open lines of communication between you and your healthcare professionals can help ensure the successful treatment of your RA and a better quality of life for you.