Why me?
I thought arthritis was something old people got
Arthritis does not only occur in old people and this is a common misconception. Children and teenagers can also develop arthritis. Around 1 in 10,000 children under the age of 16 years develop arthritis every year and between 1-2 in every 1000 young people have arthritis.
In other words your average secondary school will have a teenager with arthritis. Similarly lupus does not just affect adults. In fact 1 in every 5 people with lupus develops lupus under the age of 17 years.
Causes
Why do some people get it and others don't?
JIA, lupus and myositis are all conditions caused by the body’s own immune system. Your immune system is there to fight infection, in other words fight bugs foreign to your body that don’t belong there. In these conditions, the immune system has got confused and has started attacking your own body.
Why this happens, and working out the best ways to stop or prevent this, is an important area of research that the Centre is working on.
Getting diagnosed
Can be a really positive thing
Every young person’s story is different, but often young people are quite relieved to get their diagnosis. We have heard many times that their symptoms are misdiagnosed as another condition, and the wrong treatments have been given, often for several years.
Getting the correct diagnosis means young people can get the right medication and can start managing their symptoms well and take control of their lives.
Young people talk about their diagnosis journeys
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56 years, 9 months ago