Adult Still’s Disease
Adult Still’s disease is an atypical inflammatory condition wherein in the person affected experiences on a daily basis sharp fevers, aches and swelling in the joints and has a pinkish tone rash appearance over the body. The progression of this condition could cause several complications inclusive of chronic arthritis.
Still’s disease is called as systematic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and there is presently no cure for it though treatment could allay the symptoms to a certain extent and aid in averting complications.
Symptoms of Adult Still’s Disease:
Majority of the individuals having adult Still’s disease show a permutation of the below mentioned signs and symptoms:
- Fever shooting up to no less than 102F or 38.9C on a day-to-day basis that would last for seven days or more. The fever generally rises in the later part of the afternoon or in the early dusk hours. At times, a person could daily undergo two shoot-ups of fever. The in-between time periods between these fever shoot-ups, the temperature would mostly normalise.
- Pinkish coloured bumps or flattened rashes could intermittently surface and subside during the fever and would generally appear on the trunk region, arms or limbs. Any form of friction like when one rubs one’s skin could trigger the onset of the rash.
Muscular aches related to adult Still’s disease generally rise and drop along with the fever, though the intensity of the pain could be extreme enough to hinder routine chores.- Soreness in the throat.
- Swelling up of the lymph nodes in the neck region.
- Enlargement of the liver or the spleen.
- The lining of the heart or the lungs gets inflamed.
Those experiencing any of such symptoms do not essentially have adult Still’s disease. The signs and symptoms of such a disorder could however be analogous to those of other conditions like communicable mononucleosis – a kind of cancer known as lymphoma or other rheumatic conditions inclusive of rheumatoid arthritis.
When is medical assistance requisite?
In case one is having soaring fever, rashes and painful joints that have prolonged for no less than fourteen days, then visiting a doctor is imperative in order to ascertain the reasons behind them. Additionally, in case one has adult Still’s disease and is coughing, experiencing respiratory distress, chest pain or any other atypical symptoms then one must contact the doctor.
Causes of Adult Still’s Disease:
Though there is uncertainty regarding what causes adult Still’s disease, the condition could be elicited due to a viral or bacterial infection.
Risk Factors:
The occurrence of this condition in adults is observed to mount two times: firstly in between the years of fifteen to twenty-five years and once again in between 36-46years of age. Hence, age appears to be the key risk factor in this condition. Both the sexes are at equal risk of developing this disorder. Several adult Still’s disease cases among families are infrequent; hence it is not likely that such a condition is heritable.
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