Regular eye exams are very important for this reason. Uveitis most commonly occurs in children with a small number of joints affected by JA and may begin before the arthritis is diagnosed. The course of JA is unpredictable. Children may have arthritis for several months to a year before it disappears for good. Flare-ups are those times when the arthritis appears to get worse.
Remissions are periods when the arthritis seems to have gone away.
Occasionally, a minor cold or infection may trigger a flare-up. Most often the cause of the flare-up is not known, however. A vast array of symptoms may present themselves in the different types of juvenile arthritis. This is the mildest, most common form of JA, usually affecting four or fewer joints. This disease usually occurs in girls more often than boys, aged four years or younger.