Rheumatoid Arthritis - Time for a makeover?
I recently listened to a radio programme where the contributors were arguing that term “schizophrenia” should be abandoned in favour of a more descriptive and less pejorative name. There were a number of suggestions put forward for this new name, but what they all had in common was a desire to reflect the reality of schizophrenia from a patient perspective whilst being more accurate and informative for those without the condition.
The programme piqued my interest because I think that it’s time that the term “Rheumatoid Arthritis” had a makeover too. If you suffer from RA yourself you’ll be familiar with the type of comments that abound when you talk about your diagnosis. People often confuse it with osteoarthritis and will empathise with you by sharing their own “aches and pains”. However, whilst osteoarthritis is another dreadfully debilitating condition, it doesn’t generally include the type of systemic effects that are common with RA, and doesn’t require the aggressive and often toxic rounds of medication that people with rheumatoid arthritis have to accept should they wish to avoid serious joint damage. There is a real lack of understanding out there.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame my friends and family. Before my diagnosis I knew nothing about RA either and would probably have been guilty of making the same sort of comments. No, what I blame is the name, which is both ambiguous and uninformative . So here’s my challenge to you. Can you come up with a better name for Rheumatoid Arthritis? I’d love to hear it.
PS: There are some great organisations doing their best to raise awareness of RA. In the UK the most well known is the NRAS who are making a Radio 4 Charity appeal on Sunday 17th January at 07.55 and 21.26. And if you can’t manage either of those times then it is repeated the following Thursday at 15.27. Well worth a listen! Find out more
