Reiter’s syndrome is also known as reactive arthritis. However, what in unique about this disease is that it is associated with three apparently disparate symptoms: arthritis, redness of the eyes, and urinary tract signs. This disorder is referred to as a seronegative spondyloarthropathy by the doctors since it results in the formation of inflammatory condition throughout the body, predominantly in the spinal areas and joints where tendons are attached to the bones. In case of Reiter’s syndrome, the inflammation is accompanied by characteristic reactions namely redness, swelling, heat, and pain.

Reiter’s syndrome is commonly referred to as reactive arthritis, since the characteristic symptoms of the disease occur as a reaction to some infection in the body. In many patients who develop this disease, the infection is typically genitourinary in nature. It originates in the bladder, the urethra, the penis, or the vagina and is transmitted from one person to another through sexual intercourse. This form of reactive arthritis is called Genitourinary or Urogenital Reiter’s syndrome. Another form of the same ailment is called as Enteric or Gastrointestinal Reiter’s syndrome and usually affects a person through food that is infested with bacteria.

Reiter’s syndrome is caused by several known variants of bacteria like Shigella, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Campylobacter. The presence of HLA-B27 in the genes of a person makes him susceptible to Reiter’s syndrome. Reiter’s syndrome is not contagious although the bacteria causing it can be passed from one person to another. People who fall prey to this disease have innate traits that make them vulnerable to this disorder. This form of arthritis commonly affects men between the ages of 20 and 40. Amongst men who are under the age of 50, about 3.5 per 100,000 develop Reiter’s syndrome every year. It is thus, the most common form of arthritis that the younger men may develop.

The symptoms of Reiter’s syndrome can be evident because of the fact that many different parts of the body are affected. The disease typically manifests itself through the urogenital tract, the joints and the eyes. The less commonly observed symptoms include skin rashes, mouth ulcers and heart-valve problems. The symptoms may appear and reappear periodically over several weeks to several months. The treatment for this ailment is supervised by a rheumatologist who treats the joint disease. In addition, the patient may also visit other specialists like an ophthalmologist, an urologist, a gynecologist, a dermatologist etc depending on which part of his body has been the most affected. Though there is no cure for this disease, treatments that relieve the pain are definitely available.