May is National Arthritis Month. You may think of arthritis as something that only happens to older people, but how much do you know about Juvenile Arthritis (JA) and its prevalence and causes? Brevard Medical Equipment supports young people with this debilitating condition and carries a wide variety of equipment and supplies.

How common is JA? In 2007, CDC estimated that:

• 294,000 U.S. children under age 18 (or 1 in 250 children) have been diagnosed with arthritis or other rheumatic conditions.
• Childhood arthritis-related diagnoses range from a low of 500 children in Wyoming to a high of 38,000 children in California.
• Children diagnosed with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions account for approximately 827,000 doctor visits each year, including an average of 83,000 emergency department room visits.

There is no known cause for most forms of juvenile arthritis, nor is there evidence to suggest that toxins, foods or allergies cause children to develop the disease. Some research points toward a genetic predisposition, which means the combination of genes a child receives from family members may cause the onset of arthritis when triggered by other factors.

Coping with a chronic illness is difficult for anyone, but especially for children who are not emotionally or physically equipped to handle the situation. Expect and prepare for your child to sometimes feel sad or angry that he or she has arthritis. It’s important to address, rather than ignore these emotions. Help your child maintain the attitude that “arthritis is part of who I am, not the only thing I am.”

While we don’t offer the medications to treat juvenile or adult arthritis, we do have medical equipment and products to help arthritis management for people of any age. Brevard Medical Equipment offers walkers, wheelchairs and bath safety equipment to help make easier for those with juvenile arthritis.

We’ll talk more about juvenile arthritis in our next post when we go over possible treatment options. Be watching for this future update, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sources: pediatriconcall.com, the CDC, the Arthritis Foundation