How is it diagnosed?
Many children and adolescents occasionally find that they have swollen, painful joints. Often this is due to some obvious cause, such a recent injury or an infection. In such cases, your doctor would not normally consider JIA.
On the other hand:
- if a child appears to have joints that are swollen, painful, and—especially in the morning or after periods of inactivity—stiff;
- if the symptoms persist for at least six weeks; and
- if there is no obvious cause for the symptoms
then your doctor may consider a diagnosis of JIA.
It is important to know that is no single diagnostic test for JIA. The condition is identified on the basis of a clinical assessment and a discussion of the patient’s history. Medical staff may, however, carry out a variety of tests in order to exclude other possible causes of a child’s symptoms.
