July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
July 5, 2008 – 11:52 pm Thank you for visiting our blog! Please consider signing up for notifications of new posts to our blog via either email or your favorite newsreader using the links on the right. Take a moment to browse our store, as well, by clicking on one of the categories listed above. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy our blog!This July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, which is sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation in an effort to raise awareness that arthritis affects children and teenagers, too. Though many are not aware of the prevalence, juvenile arthritis is one of the most common childhood diseases in the United States.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, Juvenile arthritis refers to any form of arthritis or arthritis-related condition that develops in children or teenagers who are less than 18 years of age. About 294,000 children are affected. While there is no cure for juvenile arthritis, medicines and physical therapy can help maintain movement and reduce swelling and pain. Recent juvenile arthritis research found that a gene region known to play a role in some varieties of adult rheumatoid arthritis is also present in all types of childhood arthritis.
If your child is affected by Juvenile arthritis, you can sign up for a free juvenile arthritis newsletter containing latest information on treatments, research, coping, parenting strategies and profiles of kids with arthritis. You might also be interested in attending the National Juvenile Arthritis Conference July 10th-13th.
According to the JA Alliance, the following the common symptoms of Juvenile arthritis:
- Pain, swelling, tenderness and stiffness of joints, causing limited range of motion
- Joint contracture, which results from holding a painful joint in a flexed position for an extended period
- Damage to joint cartilage and bone leading to joint deformity and impaired use of the joint
- Altered growth of bone and joints leading to short stature
If you would like to find out more or make a donation, visit the Arthritis Foundation website.
Click the picture below to see some of my favorite blue ribbon juvenile arthritis awareness jewelry:
