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Michele Webb owns her own website and is a member of a number of organizations for women Netpreneurs and business owners. She has over 20 years experience in health care, clinical trials, management, project management and software development. She currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada USA with her two dogs.

Multiple joints are usually inflamed in symmetrical pattern and joints of both hands and wrists are often affected. Simple tasks such as turning door knob and opening jars can be painful. Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect joint responsible for tightening of vocal cords to change tone of voice although rarely. But when this happens, it can cause hoarseness of voice.

As mentioned before, rheumatoid arthritis is a systematic disease which can affect organs and areas of body other than joints. Sjorgen's syndrome is inflammation of glands of eyes and mouth which causes dryness. Rheumatoid inflammation of lung lining can cause chest pains because lung tissue itself is inflamed and nodules of inflammation also develop within lungs. Rheumatoid arthritis can also reduce number of red blood cells which can result to anemia and white blood cells which can result to increase risk of infections. A rare, serious complication of rheumatoid arthritis is blood vessel inflammation which can impair blood supply to tissues and lead to death of tissues.

A rheumatologist is a doctor who specializes in arthritis and other related diseases. The rheumatologist reviews history of symptoms, examines joints, and other parts of body for inflammation. The diagnosis is usually based on pattern of symptoms, distribution of inflamed joints, and blood and x-rays obtained.

Until now, there is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis. Reducing joint inflammation and pain, maximizing joint function, and preventing joint destruction is current goal in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Early medical intervention has been found to improve outcomes in treatment. Optimal treatment includes combination of medications, joint strengthening exercises, joint protection, and patient education. Treatment is customized according to many factors such as disease activity, types of joints involved, general health, age, and occupation. But treatment is most successful when there is close cooperation between doctor and patient.

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