Autoimmune conditions occur when your own immunity cells start attacking the healthy parts of your body. There are more than 70 such conditions documented as per medical science. Research is on to isolate more such disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the autoimmune conditions; this is known to impair your joints. People with this condition tend to have pains as well as swollen joints. It is also characterized by a stiffening of muscles surrounding your knees, wrists as well as hands. But is rheumatoid arthritis a disability? It is worth your while to know more.
What causes autoimmune disorders is not fully evidenced and documented. Physicians suspect roles played by environmental, genetic, and other such triggers. In most cases, a strong influence of genetic makeup coupled with exposure to other risk factors which are environmental in nature have been identified. Most commonly observed autoimmune conditions are Addison's disease, Multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases. Psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis – to name a few.
You may need to consult with a specialist to diagnose the onset of such autoimmune conditions. Diagnosis is often quite challenging. This is mainly because of the transient forms symptoms assume and also owing to diverse forms through which each disease presents itself. No two autoimmune conditions are treated in the same manner.
Treatment plans depend upon the severity of your disorder as well as the type of ailment. Doctors use immunosuppressants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to manage the signs. These drugs help reduce internal swelling and suppress your hyperactive immunity system. You need to know most of these treatment plans can only manage the signs of autoimmune ailments. A permanent cure is seldom the case, and most caregivers resort to case management of these conditions.
In this light, what is rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis (in short, RA) is one of the long-term conditions which adversely impacts your joints. RA belongs to the genre of autoimmune disorders. It is characterized by painful as well as swollen joints. When you take a rest, you may find stiffening of muscles and pains to worsen. Most widely affected parts include hands as well as wrists. This condition may show up on both the sides of the patient’s body.
RA may also have an adverse impact on your nerves, lungs, skin, heart, eyes, blood, etc. You may also encounter a marked drop in red cells of your blood, swelling in and around your respiratory system. At times, your cardiac system may also witness an inflammation. The causes of RA remain largely unclear. Caregivers often attribute its incidence to environmental risks as well as your DNA predisposition.
When your immune cells start working against your own cells and tissues present in your joints, RA is one of the outcomes. Not stopping with your joints, RA may also penetrate deeper down to affect your cartridges and bones. There are a few lab-based tests and radiological scans done to help diagnose RA. As this autoimmune disorder has a lot of similarities with fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus, etc., you may need to talk to your caregiver. He / she may order a panel of tests to rule out these deceivingly-similar medical conditions.
Is rheumatoid arthritis a disability?
Rheumatoid arthritis – if it turns into a severe condition and makes you incapable of doing any work - may then turn into a disability. The terms applied to qualify RA as a disability tend to vary from one agency to another.
Social Security Administration – the SSA, in short, labels rheumatoid arthritis as a disability. In order to be qualified in a fairly straight and uncomplicated way, RA needs to have been advanced; an extent to which it does not permit you to perform work on a full-time mode.
As per a few latest research, as high as 1/3rd of patients living with RA turn incapable of working within 11 – 12 years of diagnosis of RA. In order to prove it to be a disability, you may need to show your inability to work for 12 months or show how working with RA may lead to fatal consequences. You may have to show your inability to put both your arms to use to perform work.
Also, your inability to pursue basic activities like walking, problems you face in participating in social activities, problems (inabilities) you encounter in completing work in an efficient and a timely manner enable benefits-offering-agencies qualify RA as a disability.
More pointers about rheumatoid arthritis – a painful autoimmune disorder
As per the latest estimates, nearly 27 million persons stand affected by RA. It is known to affect middle-aged adults as well as females. In fact, the ratio of females-to-male patients stands at 2.5:1. RA leads to more than 45,000 deaths each year.
Beware of its most-commonly visible sign – which is swollen joints and stiffening of muscles which restricts your bodily movements. If left untreated, many of your other joints may get affected by RA. The condition may spread to feet, hands as well as spine. In some remote cases, other joints such as knees and shoulders have also been affected.
Most treatment plans offered for managing RA focus on how to handle pains and to reduce swelling. Through this approach, doctors aim to improve your body's ability to function normally. Along with intake of a few drugs, you may be advised to take rest and also pursue some basic workouts.
Painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (in short, NSAIDs) and steroids are most commonly administered to suppress the symptoms. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (in short DMARDs) such as methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, etc. are widely prescribed to decrease the rate at which this ailment progresses. Your caregiver may resort to the use of biological DMARDS if RA fails to be responsive to other forms of drugs.
In order to have details about is rheumatoid arthritis a disability, you are advised to talk to a qualified caregiver. Upon witnessing one or more of the characteristic signs of RA, seek medical assistance in a healthcare facility – near home, without any further delay.
Disclaimer
Information provided here are only of supplementary nature. Information shared here does not substitute a qualified doctor’s advice. This website is not suggesting intake of this drug as safe or appropriate. Hence it is advised to talk to your doctor before consuming this med or any other drug.