Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis is a painful condition where joints swell and cause pain. It is known as an inflammatory type of arthritis and is also considered to be an auto-immune disease. It is a chronic health condition and is faced by many. It can occur while a person is still young (below 40) and affects every part of life if untreated.
What is Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis occurs in about 20% of people. It happens when the rheumatoid part tests negative. There is a vague consensus that the diagnosis of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis is a less severe form of rheumatoid arthritis, but this is not always correct. Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis can be categorized into inflammatory or non-inflammatory types.
Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect every part of a person’s life. It starts with pain. It could be pain in a joint, but it could be worse; whole body aches. The pain can be so severe that normal, everyday activities become impossible.
Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis can be separated or categorized into three areas. Monoarthritis, where it involves only one joint, can be caused or triggered by gout, septic arthritis, trauma, tumors or other similar diseases or conditions of crystal deposits. Oligoarthritis, where it involved 2 or 3 joints can be triggered, again, by gout but also juvenile idiopathic arthritis or even psoriasis. Polyarthritis, where it involves more than 5 joints, can be triggered by juvenile idiopathic arthritis or scleroderma. This is not an exhaustive list.
Symptoms of Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis
Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis generally involves joint pain in knees, ankles and other large joints. There is often inflammation in tendons, ligaments and joints. There is also often inflammation in the sacroiliac joints or even the spine. Inflammation can also occur in the eyes, heart and large bowel.
Treatment of Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis
Seeing a doctor is the first step to treating seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor will probably run tests and it can take time for the diagnosis to become clear. During this stage it is possible the doctor will prescribe an anti-inflammatory but once diagnosis is made, there is more he or she can do.
The doctor will refer a patient to a rheumatologist. They will then look at further treatment options, including corticosteroid tablets to assist with inflammation, anti-rheumatic medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and pain killers. Other patients have found that changing their diet and seeing a naturopath in combination with a rheumatologist has been beneficial. There are also options to use antibiotic therapy or antibiotic protocol. Antibiotic protocol is a course of treatment where low dose antibiotics are used to attack the bacteria that are triggering the chronic disease or condition.
Many of the medications used to treat seronegative rheumatoid arthritis have severe side effects. Not all treatment options will work for everyone. Finding a doctor who will treat you in line with how you want to be treated will help. Discussing options with the doctor and outlining your reasons for not wanting to take certain courses of action will assist in making things easier and clearer.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Pregnancy
If you suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis and you’re about to have a baby, you may be wondering what effects your disease will have on the child. 
If you’re thinking about having a baby, you really need to consider whether or not someone in your condition is ready to have a baby, whether the arthritis will go away, whether or not the child will inherit your disease, whether or not your disease will affect the pregnancy and a number of other factors. However, there are some things you can do to plan ahead and make things a little easier no matter if your baby’s on the way or if he or she hasn’t even been conceived yet.
The Effects on Pregnancy
When it comes to Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy, you should know that your disease will affect certain aspects that are necessary for a healthy gestation period. Rheumatoid arthritis affects your physical ability, your strength and your endurance. Also, the symptoms you experience may interfere with your ability to care for the baby once he or she is born. Therefore, before you think of having a baby, you have to decide if you even have the strength to go through with a Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy.
Self Test
There’s a self test you can do to determine if you are in fact fit to be a mother. Take a ten pound weight and try to lift it from the height of your bed. Then, hold the weight in your arm while sitting for at least ten minutes. Next, take that weight up and down the stairs. The other test includes walking around the house with the weight for ten minutes.
If, after doing all of this, you find that the pain in your hips, knees and feet increases, you may find Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy very difficult. Some other things you might want to try are screwing the lid on and off a baby bottle, getting through your average day without the need to nap, as well as bending your neck with your chin to your chest as if you were looking at the baby while holding him or her close to you.
Improved Symtpoms
The good news is that the symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis are sometimes relieved during pregnancy. This occurs at varying times during the Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy. In most women, however, the improvement happens at the end of the fourth month. You may find that joint swelling decreases, although joint pain and stiffness can still exist due to joint damage.
It should be noted, however, that the improved symptoms usually don’t last after the Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy. In fact, in most cases the symptoms flare up again about two to eight weeks after the baby is born.
Heredity and Rheumatoid Arthritis
As far as passing the disease to you baby is concerned, doctors still don’t really know what causes the disease and they haven’t definitively decided that heredity is the cause. Most believe that environmental factors are the most important reasons why people develop Rheumatoid arthritis. However, some believe that heredity can make the baby more susceptible to developing the disease and that the environmental factors will give them the trigger they need to develop symptoms. Having an abortion does not prevent a flare. Any type of delivery, spontaneous abortion, therapeutic abortion, or stillbirth can result in a flare.
Hopefully, this information can help you make a more informed decision whether or not a Rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy is something you want to go through with.
Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis is a painful condition where joints swell and cause pain. It is known as an inflammatory type of arthritis and is also considered to be an auto-immune disease. It is a chronic health condition and is faced by many. It can occur while a person is still young (below 40) and affects every part of life if untreated.