Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Arthritis is not the sole privelege of the older person - some types solely affect children and young people.

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Oligo-articular JIA Polyarticular JIA

Systemic onset JIA Case study

About one in 1,000 children has arthritis. Usually it's a form of inflammatory arthritis known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis or JIA (formerly known as juvenile chronic arthritis). This is a separate condition from rheumatoid arthritis. In many cases the inflammation stops in late childhood, but about a third of children affected have problems that last into their adult life.

There are three common types of juvenile idiopathic arthritis:

This is the most common kind of childhood arthritis and often starts at the age of two or three. The problem is limited to four joints or fewer, which become swollen and painful. Sometimes the eyes are affected, too. It is sometimes also known as pauciarticular arthritis.

This affects five or more joints. It can start at any age, from a few months onwards, and usually spreads quite quickly from one joint to another. Children often feel generally unwell, sometimes with a fever.

This affects the whole body and causes fever and rashes as well as inflamed and painful joints. It usually starts in children under five but can affect children of any age. It used to be called Still's disease.

Oliver was 18 months old when he developed a sore throat, ear ache and a fever. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, but the symptoms didn't go away. Oliver winced whenever he was touched. He wouldn't move, wouldn't eat and his weight began to drop. "We were getting desperate," says Oliver's mum, Miriam. "But the doctors still said it was a virus."

Finally, when Oliver developed a rash on his stomach, the doctors got worried about meningitis and he was sent to hospital for tests. But Miriam and her partner had to wait another three weeks before the diagnosis of arthritis was confirmed.

"The trouble with systemic onset juvenile chronic arthritis is that no single test can prove what it is. First they had to rule out leukaemia and cancer and other forms of arthritis. It was 12 weeks before we knew what it was. Oliver went on medication and we had to keep him mobile every day to stop contractures. Sometimes it was heartbreaking to coax him into moving when there were tears pouring down his face."

But the treatment and hard work seem to be working. "Now Oliver looks like any other two-year-old."