Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a term that is both familiar and unfamiliar to the public, has been gaining more and more attention in recent years and is referred to as rheumatoid arthritis. In the treatment work, some patients who visit the clinic with joint pain often eagerly ask: “Do I have rheumatic disease, is it rheumatoid arthritis ah? Is it rheumatoid arthritis?” Here we need to clarify some concepts first. “Rheumatic diseases” actually refers to rheumatic immune diseases, a group of diseases that mainly affect joints, bones, muscles, blood vessels and related soft tissues or connective tissues, most of which are autoimmune diseases. “Rheumatic diseases” is an extremely broad concept, which includes ten categories of more than 200 kinds of diseases, the common ones are systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, dry syndrome, etc., of course, also includes the relatively high incidence of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis” and “rheumatoid arthritis” are two very different diseases. “Rheumatoid arthritis is often thought to be associated with a streptococcal infection, often with fever, heart involvement, and multiple joints, but it is curable and does not usually result in joint destruction. The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is still unclear, but it is thought to be closely related to genetic, environmental, and infectious factors, and is a chronic disease. It erodes the joints and can lead to joint deformity, loss of mobility, and of course other organs such as vascular disease, interstitial lung fibrosis, nephritis, anemia, or a combination of other autoimmune diseases. So let’s talk about who should be considered for screening for rheumatoid arthritis? How can rheumatoid arthritis be diagnosed? What is the standard treatment? Which patients need to go to the hospital to be screened to rule out rheumatoid arthritis in the first place? Then we start with the main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatoid arthritis is mainly characterized by swelling and pain in the joints, which is symmetrical and persistent, and can also occur intermittently. It is often accompanied by morning stiffness, i.e., the joint becomes inflexible in the morning or after a long period of inactivity, like a feeling of glue. The affected joints are mainly small joints, such as the hand, wrist and foot joints, and the knee and elbow joints are also commonly involved; at the same time, the cervical spine, temporomandibular joints, sternoclavicular and acromioclavicular joints can also be involved. In the middle and late stages, patients may have deformities of the fingers and inability to move the joints. Of course, there are also patients with atypical symptoms, especially in the early stages of the disease, so when you have persistent joint pain, especially in multiple joints or with swelling and morning stiffness, you need to seek help from a specialist to rule out rheumatoid arthritis. As for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis, that is the responsibility of your doctor. However, since rheumatoid immune diseases are highly specialized, it is best to see a specialist. The diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis has strict diagnostic criteria, and the diagnosis is mainly based on the patient’s symptoms, signs and related auxiliary examinations. The diagnosis is based on the patient’s symptoms, signs and related auxiliary examinations, and symptoms and signs account for a large part of the diagnostic criteria. Therefore, the specialist’s judgment is very important. The main tests that are helpful for diagnosis are autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and imaging tests. Since many diseases can cause joint pain, and rheumatoid arthritis can be complicated by other autoimmune diseases or involve internal organs, there are many more ancillary tests that need to be performed clinically. Finally, let’s talk about the standardized treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Why do we emphasize standardized treatment? It is mainly due to the poor compliance of many patients in the clinic and even the lack of awareness of some non-specialists. The first emphasis is on general treatment, which should include smoking cessation, avoidance of cold, and appropriate exercise to maximize the improvement and preservation of the function of the involved joints and reduce the occurrence of disability. Then there is medication control. Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be cured yet, and the purpose of medication is to control the disease and avoid joint deformity to the greatest extent possible, which affects self-care. The choice of medication needs to be standardized, while paying attention to individualization. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that requires long-term medication. And because of the long-term medication, and related drugs have side effects, and some drug instructions are also very worrying side effects, such as liver damage, malignant tumors, etc.. In fact, these side effects do not happen to everyone, and standardized individualized treatment and regular follow-up can avoid some serious consequences. Therefore, it is important to closely monitor the changes in the course of medication, and regularly review the blood routine, liver and kidney functions, etc. Of course, proper rest, physical therapy, body therapy, topical medication, proper joint activities and muscle exercises are important to relieve symptoms and improve joint function. However, these cannot replace regular medication. Therefore, some patients believe in the so-called secret formula, package cure, Chinese medicine cure, physiotherapy cure and other scams, the original use of Western medicine to stop using, and finally relapse, aggravation, and even joint deformity before they come to their senses. In short, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis requires regular follow-up visits, and the addition and subtraction of drugs as prescribed by the doctor, so as not to delay the disease and end up with deformed joints and loss of function.