It may be a mild condition that causes few problems over time, but it can be much more persistent and cause joint and tissue damage in other children. JRA can produce serious complications in more severe cases. Weakness in muscles or other soft tissues around involved joints. JRA affects all children differently. Your child may not experience all of these changes.
Children also vary in the degree to which they are affected by any particular symptom.
The signs and symptoms of JRA vary from child to child and even from day to day in the same child. No one knows the cause of JRA, but it involves abnormalities of the immune system. JRA can cause altered growth, joint damage, and joint inflammation. However, permanent damage to joints is less common in children than in adults. Laboratory tests, blood work looking for inflammation, antibodies, gene type.