Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease. Unlike what one might think, its symptoms can affect more than just their joints. It can damage various systems of their body including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels. As an autoimmune disorder, it occurs when one’s immune system mistakenly attacks their body’s tissues.

The prime symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include joint pain and stiffness. Before the occurrence of these symptoms, one is likely to experience various early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Some of these early signs of rheumatoid arthritis relate to how one feels overall, while others are specific to the joints.

Spotting these early signs of rheumatoid arthritis helps one seek treatment at the earliest possible opportunity. It is, therefore, important for one to watch out for the below-listed warning signs of rheumatoid arthritis.

• Fatigue
  One who has rheumatoid arthritis is likely to feel extremely tired. They may also feel depressed. The feeling of fatigue affects everyday activities, relationships, sex drive, and productivity at work.
• Slight fever
  Inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis can make one feverish. Sometimes, they may also have a slightly raised temperature. Such fever may precede any noticeable effects on the joints.
• Weight loss
  People with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis also experience unexplained weight loss. This is an indirect effect of inflammation.
• Stiffness
  Persistent stiffness, tenderness, and pain in joints can be the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Such stiffness can occur in one or two small joints and often in the fingers as well. These symptoms come slowly but can last for several days.
• Joint tenderness
  Among the patients of rheumatoid arthritis, the symptoms of joint tenderness affecting the hands and feet is typical.
• Joint pain
  Joint pain in the fingers, wrists, and feet are the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. This occurs because inflammation makes the lining of the joints thicker.
• Joint swelling
  In both hands and feet, the joints look swollen. These symptoms of joint swelling tend to be more apparent as rheumatoid arthritis progresses.
• Redness in joints
  Inflammation in the joints sometimes is likely to offer it an appearance of redness. It occurs because the inflammation causes the blood vessels in the surrounding skin to widen.
• Warmth in the joints
  This is caused by inflammation and can also be present before redness or swelling occurs.
• Numbness and tingling
  Tingling and the feeling of numbness in hands and feet are early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Such symptoms are caused by inflammation in the joints and this sometimes leads to nerve compression and results in loss of sensation.
• A decrease in range of motion
  With the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis, a person may experience trouble in bending their wrist back and forth. With the progress of the symptoms, it can cause damage to the joints and affect ligaments and tendons too.

According to the doctors, there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis. However, to limit its symptoms, certain treatment procedures are followed by the doctors based on the overall health conditions of the patients. These include medication, physical therapies, and joint repair surgeries.