Reactive arthritis is an autoimmune condition that results from the body's response to an infection. It is also known as Reiter's Syndrome, Reiter's arthritis, arthritis urethritica, venereal arthritis, and polyarteritis enterica. The Reiter name comes from Hans Conrad Julius Reiter, a German physician to whom significant contributions to the identification and description of the disease are attributed.
Signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis may include all or combinations of the following: an inflammatory arthritis of large joints, inflammation of the eyes (conjunctivitis or uveitis), and urethritis (for men) or cervicitis (for women). The condition typically targets persons in their 20's through their 40's and is more likely to strike men than women.
Since reactive arthritis develops as a reaction to an infection, treatment is expected to center on the identification and eradication of the underlying infections that trigger the condition's development. Symptomatic treatments on the other hand involves the use of NSAIDs, steroids, and immunosuppressants.