hi Linda,

Welcome to RAHealthCentral! We are very happy to have you join the community. I am the Community Leader for RAHealthCentral — if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

in regards to your question — no, this is not true. First, redness is not a typical manifestation of RA. Pain and swelling are typical, though and indicate disease activity. However, some people have an atypical presentation of RA, which may include not having a lot of swelling. As well, you may have low disease activity and not a lot of pain and swelling, but the disease is still there. As long as it is, there is the risk of joint damage. This is why it's really important to see a rheumatologist on a regular basis and to pursue treatment aggressively. We have lots of posts in our archives with information that can help you understand your disease better. I'd recommend that you check out my post on remission and new approaches to treating RA. You may also want to check out my summary post for people who are new to RA — you've obviously have it for a while, but this post gives you a good overview of what's important to know early on in your "career" with RA.

Hang in there. It gets easier. And until then, we're here to help you every step of the way!

Hi LindaR,

Absolutely not!  Most of RA activity occurs on the cellular level and the effects may not be visible from outside the body.  When I was first diagnosed, I could feel obvious pain in parts of my body and swelling was visible in only a limited number of joints.  The finger that was twice its normal size didn't even look red.  What I didn't know until testing was that I had minimal bone erosion in a joint which had not yet bothered me, even early in the disease.  There was no clue before hand (redness, pain, swelling) that damage was occurring.

This is one reason why it is so very important to start disease-modifying anti-rheumatic treatment to try to slow down or limit the effects of RA.  And why it is equally important to continue treatment even when you are feeling good.

I read in your profile that your rheumatologist suggested that you join an online community such as this one.  That is fantastic!  Of course, your doctor is the one who can provide answers specific to your case of RA, but there is a wealth of information shared by patients online.  I hope that you have some time to dig around in the archives here and will contribute your own story.

Be well,

Lisa