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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Could Swollen Hands, Knees And Joints Be Osteoarthritis Instead Of Diagnosed RA?

I suspect that I have osteoarthritis instead of ra after seeing pictures of the hands of someone with osteo. All my joints in my hands are big on both sides rt. and left. When I have done outside work, raking leaves for 4 to 5 hrs. I had swollen hands knees and felt ill. This is the first yr. this happened so I was surprised by it. I m 63.
Fri, 31 Jan 2014
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Anesthesiologist,  's  Response
Hello,
I have gone through your query and understand your concern.
I think you find difficulty in differentiating whether you have Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis.
1. At this age, Osteoarthritis is more common than Rheumatoid arthritis
2. if you have Rheumatoid arthritis. you may have symptoms all over the body like fatigue, feeling of not well, recurrent mild fever, dry skin.
Because rheumatoid arthritis is a Auto immune disease.
3. It is usual to have the swelling and pain due to inflammation after heavy physical activity in the joints with osteoarthritis.

In Rheumatoid arthritis, Morning stiffness is more pronounced and it persists for more than one hour.
Do you have such severe type of stiffness in joints?
If yes, then do the further investigations like Complete blood count and esr, C-Reactive protein- it may show anemia and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP.
Further you have to check the Rheumatoid Factor (RF). If it is positive, you may have Rheumatoid arthritis.

Hope this helps.
Please write back for further queries.
Wishing you good health.
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Could Swollen Hands, Knees And Joints Be Osteoarthritis Instead Of Diagnosed RA?

Hello, I have gone through your query and understand your concern. I think you find difficulty in differentiating whether you have Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis. 1. At this age, Osteoarthritis is more common than Rheumatoid arthritis 2. if you have Rheumatoid arthritis. you may have symptoms all over the body like fatigue, feeling of not well, recurrent mild fever, dry skin. Because rheumatoid arthritis is a Auto immune disease. 3. It is usual to have the swelling and pain due to inflammation after heavy physical activity in the joints with osteoarthritis. In Rheumatoid arthritis, Morning stiffness is more pronounced and it persists for more than one hour. Do you have such severe type of stiffness in joints? If yes, then do the further investigations like Complete blood count and esr, C-Reactive protein- it may show anemia and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP. Further you have to check the Rheumatoid Factor (RF). If it is positive, you may have Rheumatoid arthritis. Hope this helps. Please write back for further queries. Wishing you good health.