Arthritis is a common disease which is mainly found in the ageing people. Still's disease is one of the primary forms of Arthritis. Still’s disease is a disorder which causes inflammation that is accompanied by high fevers, rashes which are salmon-colored, and pain in the joints of bones. Still's disease is more commonly found in the children, even though it has a far chance of occurring in the adults. In the adults the disease is referred to as adult-onset Still's disease. There are several beliefs on what could be the possible causes of Still’s disease.
There are a group of experts who believe that the disease could be caused due to infection which could be caused by a microbe. Another belief suggests that Still's disease is an autoimmune disorder or a hypersensitive disease. The exact cause of the disease remains undiscovered till date. Still's disease is a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and is also called systemic-onset JRA. The term systemic suggests that the inflammation in the joints begins with signs and symptoms. The signs and symptoms include high fever and swelling of the glands. Still's disease derived its name from on English Physician by the name of Sir George F. Still.
The Still's disease begins with symptoms which include the whole body. The disease is accompanied by extreme fatigue that is followed by high fevers that can shoot up the mercury level to 102 degrees F or more.
But then the high temperatures are very short lived as the mercury drops down very low within few minutes, showing frequents fluctuations in body temperature. The fevers mainly recur at the same time every day. Also there are faint rashes which come and go.
There are these common signs and symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea and drastic weight loss. The lymph glands can also be swollen with the enlargement of the liver and the spleen. One of the symptoms can also be soreness of throat. Inflammation is also noticed around the area of heart or the lungs. This can also be accompanied by the accumulation of fluid in those areas. The patients who are suffering Still's disease eventually develop joint pain and swelling. The effect can be seen in any of the joints.
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Still's disease is diagnosed depending upon the clinical signs and symptoms of the disease. It has been reported about Still's disease that in several cases of the count of white blood cell increases. Even anemia is common. In many cases the chronic infection of Arthritis may even continue to adulthood. Pain in the joint of the wrists is also quite common. The function of the heart and the lungs is impaired. For the treatment of the disease drugs like aspirin are used which are diose anti-inflammatory drugs. Nonsteroid drugs can also be used. For the severe condition, Cortisone medications are used. In many cases therapies with gold, penicillamine like Cuprimine and Depen) and methotrexate like Rheumatrex and Trexall are used. An extensive research is going on to find out the main cause of the disease as well as its cure.
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