Diseases

Reactive Arhtritis

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Reactive arthritis is joint pain and swelling triggered by an infection in another part of your body — most often your intestines, genitals or urinary tract. Reactive Arthritis usually targets your knees and the joints of your ankles and feet. Inflammation also can affect your eyes, skin and urethra.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms include joint pain and stiffness, most commonly in the knees, ankles and feet. In a type of reactive arthritis called reiter's syndrome, there may be discomfort during urination as well as eye inflammation.

CAUSES

Reactive arthritis is a painful form of inflammatory arthritis (joint disease due to inflammation). It occurs in reaction to an infection by certain bacteria. Most often, these bacteria are in the genitals (chlamydia trachomatis) or the bowel (campylobacter, salmonella, shigella and yersinia).