Symptoms and Signs of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
(Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Doctor's Notes on Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
(Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (formerly referred to as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA) refers to a group of disease characterized by chronic joint inflammation that initially affected a child before 16 years of age. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) includes the five main forms of childhood arthritis: pauciarticular, polyarticular, systemic, enthesitis-related, and psoriatic arthritis.

The most common symptoms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis include joint pain, warmth, stiffness, and swelling that may be more severe in the morning. Other symptoms of JIA include loss of joint function and reduced range of motion, limping, joint deformity, eye irritation/pain/redness (uveitis or iritis), eye sensitivity to light, recurrent fevers that may “spike” several times in one day, salmon-colored rash, psoriasis rash in those with the psoriatic form of JIA, muscle aches similar to aches that accompany the flu, lymph node swelling (“swollen glands”), weight loss, and growth problems.