I have had this in the back of my mind for a long time- what if one of my kids gets this? I think one of mine has it. I have a 16 year old boy who is very healthy and athletic. He stopped playing school basketball because his knees hurt. When he plays basketball with his friends his elbows and wrist hurt. He is trying to do track this spring but his ankles are now hurting. He has a very scaley scalp and a small spot of viteligo has turned to multiple large ones. He has a patch of grey hair. I made an appointment with the pediatrician because I read that the viteligo can be caused by hyperthyroidism or vitamin B deficiency (and because I dont know what to do).
I'm venting and I am also looking for advise. I don't want to scare my son and I don't want him to take the poisins that I take and I don't want him to have this.
As all of us with PSA know, we have it partly because someone in our direct family has psoriasis. I’m sure the sense of handing down an illness is a tough thing to deal with, but the best course of action is early diagnosis and aggressive treatment.
If you are concerned about the combination of skin issues and aches and pains beyond the normal for a growing teen, then hurry to your rheumatologist and/or dermatologist to check out your kid’s symptoms. Like I said before, early diagnosis and aggressive treatment are essential and can prevent damage. Those on this site who went years without diagnosis suffered terribly without the right medications and many have joint damage because they were left untreated.
I do hope that your fears are NOT realized, but knowledge is power. Good luck!
It sounds like you’re feeling guilty for possibly handing PsA down to your son and are very concerned for his ccurrent wellbeing as well as his future. The best course of action, as you know, is to get him to the doctor to figure things out. Once a professional worrier, I now try to live by the concept of not worrying until you have all the answers. Easier said than done, but the stress isn’t going to do either of you any good. I hope you figure this out soon.
My brother has vitilego (and has had for 40+ years) and I asked my rheumy when I was diagnosed with PsA whether there was a connection and he said categorically 'NO' ..... so I hope he was right and that you are worrying about this link in your son unnecessarily.
No one in my family has had psoriasis or PsA, and our family has been traced WAY back. That said, my daughter developed RA when she was in her early 20's late teens. Of course hers had progressed over the years but she has chosen to treat her RA holistically. She has some awful days for sure, but she refuses to indulge in all theses meds I have had to take over the years. The first question asked of her when she was diagnosed was "do either of your parents have RA?" My Rheumatologist and hers both say there is a correlation.
You also gave your kid green eyes, a Roman nose, short ring fingers, and a flair for mathematics! (Fill in your own blanks- I have no idea what any of you actually look like!) None of that was intentional. It's just all the roll of the dice. The genetics of PsA are way complicated. It's not like hemophilia or Huntington's, where there are definite genes that cause PsA, and where a large percentage of kids of carriers will have the disease. I can't find anyone on either side of my family that has psoriasis or PsA besides me.
Get him to the best doctor you can find. Of course you don't want to scare him, but if, God forbid, he does have it, knowing so gives him the chance to treat it early.
This sort of thing is a concern, of course it is,but you will be surprised how many “sporty teens” have aches and pains, as their bodies grow tendons and bone don’t always keep pace with each other which can cause certain problems. I know of 2 sporty lads 14 and 16 who have had lots of tendon issues due to being extremely active. Both play football (soccer) and futsal to a county standard and one to national standard. They have no Rheumatic problems in their family background.
I know its really hard for us to look at our kids and worry when they start showing “symptoms” of this disease. Definitely get him to a good doc for a check but my advice is don’t mention it to him. One of my sons has had slight P as a child and heel problems from the age of 8 and as his dad has AS was tested for the gene and is positive. I’ve never mentioned the possibility of PsA or AS to him as it all just means he could develop something and equally could not. You are in a good position to just watch and see, and get medical advice when needed.
You are so right Lousie. When my daughter was growing up, she started to have what she called "growing pains". Her legs would really hurt and she remembered Grandma telling her it was just growing pains. Of course, it was pre-cursor to RA. I am sure it was an "old wives tale." Even her pediatrician said it was nothing to worry about. When she was in her late teens I took her to my Rheumatologist as she started to show further signs of swelling and pain in her hands, and days she just "didn't feel well." It was my Rheumatologist that diagnosed her correctly.
I wouldn't rule out RA or PsA in kids these days when they have leg chronic leg pain, etc. We, with PsA are much more aware now. I hope pediatricians are.
Louise said:
You also gave your kid green eyes, a Roman nose, short ring fingers, and a flair for mathematics! (Fill in your own blanks- I have no idea what any of you actually look like!) None of that was intentional. It's just all the roll of the dice. The genetics of PsA are way complicated. It's not like hemophilia or Huntington's, where there are definite genes that cause PsA, and where a large percentage of kids of carriers will have the disease. I can't find anyone on either side of my family that has psoriasis or PsA besides me.
Get him to the best doctor you can find. Of course you don't want to scare him, but if, God forbid, he does have it, knowing so gives him the chance to treat it early.
I really hope the outcome is good. I can’t speculate - but I must admit I often look at my 4 yo daughter and wonder the same. It’s not an easy feeling, but then my dad had virtually no effective meds, I have a whole new generation of meds that have changed my life, and there’s always the chance our kids will have a cure.
Here's to being born. These kids have life and caring loving parents concerned with their bes outcomes. I speak from experience, we have fostered/adopted dozens who would gladly face PsA for that opportunity. I'm not diminishing your fears by any means. Family is worth much more. good luck withbyour appointments
I get that lamb - there are many kids whose parents don’t care, or are just in places (like west africa) where caring means walking 4km to clean water.
There isn’t an easy solution - but feeling grateful for what we have is easy. My biggest struggle is to smile I. The face of those who have more, every day
I believe our son has PSA. He hasn't seen a rheumy yet, but was showing signs of osteo in his feet ( bunions) in his teen years. He has had back pain since his teens (slight scoliosis) along with issues in his tendons during growth spurts. He is using yoga, foam rolling and diet to see if it helps ( his choice) . He recently broke out with a patch of dry skin (looks similar to mine) and was told that it looks like eczema...same thing I was told ;-). My sister also has been diagnosed with PSA and her son has psoriasis and is now having joint problems and has been seeing specialists.
My daughter is 7 years old now and she was diagnosed with PsA four years ago (she was 3 years old) because of a sausage toe. The next year she was diagnosed with Vitiligo cause of a spot on the side of her face, the spot hasn't spread but she has 3 patches of white hair. This year during spring break she had her first multi-joint flare up, due to the PsA, I had never seen one before so I took her to urgent care (who wouldn't touch her) simply said talk to her Rheumy for instructions.
I truly believe autoimmune diseases are related, so having blood tests done would be a good thing. I have thyroid issues so I had the pediatrician check her levels as well when her basic blood work was being done.
Even though our children may receive these things from us.. they are also going to receive our love... my suggestion is to look it in the eye and face it... don't let it discourage you or your child from having the best possible (at the time.. whatever it may be)!!
I hope you figure this out soon.