Rheumatoid arthritis: facts every person with RA should know
RA is an autoimmune disease
RA is a disease of the immune system. In a healthy person, the immune system acts like a bodyguard – keeping out (or destroying) "foreign invaders," like bacteria or viruses.
But for people with autoimmune diseases like RA, the immune system mistakes the body's own cells for a foreign invader and fights back. With RA, the object of the attack is usually the lining of the joints called the synovium (pronounced si-no-vee-um).
RA is a progressive disease
RA can continue to damage your joints more and more over time, as
it continues to progress. As the disease advances, the damage done
to your joints could become very severe. So it's important to slow the
progression of joint damage as well as reduce pain and fatigue
associated with RA.
Since you don't want RA to slow down your life, it's also important to keep track of how much energy you have, your emotional well-being, how much you're able to do socially, and other aspects of your day-to-day routine. Did you know there are 8 key areas that can actually help you measure your quality of life?
