Other Pediatric Rheumatology Conditions

Lyme disease is caused by a specific bacteria that spends part of its cycle inside certain species of ticks. Symptoms of early disease occur within days to weeks of the tick bite and typically resemble the flu. If the disease is left untreated, effects can involve the heart, nervous system, and very commonly the joints.

Raynaud's phenomenon is a disorder of the blood vessels in the skin characterized by a three-phase color change in the finger when exposed to cold. Raynaud's sometimes occurs in conjunction with other underlying rheumatic disease, and are said to have Raynaud's syndrome. This syndrome is accompanied by a number of rheumatic diseases, including, but not limited to, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and scleroderma.