Rheumatoid Arthritis - Myths and Facts
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Myth: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease of old age.
Fact: The common image of an elderly person with gnarled hands leads to the belief that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease that affects only older people. The disease can strike at any age, including childhood. In fact, many cases of severe RA in the elderly could have been controlled or slowed down with aggressive treatment at earlier ages.
Myth: RA is hereditary.
Fact: RA is not necessarily passed on from generation to generation, but the gene that influences the tendency to have RA is more common in the families of some people who have RA. Not everyone who inherits this gene will develop the disease, just as, not everyone who has RA will have this gene or have other family members with the disease.
Myth: RA pain is constant.
Fact: People living with the condition often report that their pain levels vary, sometimes even over the course of a day. RA symptoms can go into remission, becoming active again after weeks, months, or even years.
Myth: Humidity causes RA.
Fact: People have long thought that high humidity caused and aggravated RA. They sometimes moved to areas of low humidity, believing it would help relieve their symptoms. However, RA is common worldwide, so changes in weather or humidity are unlikely to worsen or alleviate symptoms.
Myth: RA can't be treated.
Fact: This is one of the most pervasive, and false, of the myths. Although a cure does not exist, RA can be treated. Appropriate treatment can reduce pain, control inflammation and slow the degeneration of joints.
Some improvement in the pain and loss of function is possible in almost everyone with RA. More can be done today to ease the pain of arthritis and to slow joint destruction than ever before.
Many people with serious types of arthritis, which were severely disabling as recently as a generation ago, are now leading full and productive lives, thanks in part to many developments, including new drugs and treatments, exercise programs, surgeries and self-management. As a person with RA, your future is full of possibilities that were only a dream 25 years ago.