What's Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis?

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Say: JOO-veh-nyle id-ee-oh-PATH-ik ar-THRY-tis

Juvenile means young, so juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is called that because it's different from the arthritis that adults get. Arthritis causes pain and swelling of the joints. JIA, which makes it hard for kids to move their joints, is an autoimmune disease. That means the immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake. Kids with JIA (also called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or JRA) take medicine and need to keep their joints moving.