Register for the free World Autoimmune Arthritis Day online event from the International Foundation for Autoimmune Arthritis: http://www.worldautoimmunearthritisday.org/home.html
May is Arthritis Awareness Month, and World Autoimmune Arthritis Day is May 20. This seems like a good time to help clear up confusion between what is “wear and tear” arthritis (osteoarthritis) — sometimes called degenerative arthritis — and autoimmune arthritis.
Let’s get a few things straight first. Arthritis of any kind hurts, no matter your age, race, ethnicity, or family background. All types of arthritis can impact daily life, and there is no cure for arthritis. The purpose of this post is not to diminish the severity or symptoms of osteoarthritis, but rather to elevate the awareness of autoimmune arthritis.
To understand what autoimmune arthritis is, it is important to know what it is not — osteoarthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation, osteoarthritis affects approximately 27 million Americans and often occurs in knees, hips, lower back, neck, and the joints of the fingers. Osteoarthritis is most common in adults older than 65. Common causes of osteoarthritis include being overweight, repetitive movements, overuse and injury to the joints.
So, then, what is autoimmune arthritis?
According to the International Foundation for Autoimmune Arthritis, autoimmune arthritis refers to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that affect the joints, but can also affect tissues and organs. Essentially, your body is attacking itself, which causes pain, swelling, and inflammation in the joints. Specific diseases which fall under this umbrella include psoriatic arthritis — which is what both my son and I have —ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Still’s Disease, and all juvenile arthritis.
Specifics as to what causes autoimmune arthritis are not completely known. In many cases, patients have a genetic predisposition for the disease that is kick-started by environmental triggers, including stress.
One important thing to remember about autoimmune arthritis is that early diagnosis and aggressive treatments are key to keeping damage to joints minimal. Treatments often include medicine that suppresses the immune system. The idea is that if you calm down your overactive immune system, the disease will quiet, too. Unfortunately, this can cause other problems, like getting colds and infections more easily and not recovering from them as quickly as you normally would.
If you have autoimmune arthritis or want to learn more about specific disease that fall under this category, register for the World Autoimmune Arthritis Day 2016 (#WAAD16) online event May 19-22. This event connects patients, supporters, and caregivers to nonprofits and resources with live presentations, virtual booths, and online conversations with others from around the world. I was honored to help with the National Psoriasis Foundation’s virtual booth a few years back. It was amazing! I highly recommend this free event. Click here for more information and to register.
