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By Mayo Clinic staffReactive arthritis is a condition triggered by an infection that occurs in another part of your body — most often your intestines, genitals or urinary tract.
Painful and swollen joints are a defining feature of reactive arthritis, which typically targets the knees, ankles and feet. Reactive arthritis can also cause inflammation in your eyes, skin and the tube that carries urine from your bladder (urethra).
Reactive arthritis is also sometimes called Reiter syndrome, although this term more accurately refers to a subtype of reactive arthritis that primarily affects the joints, eyes and urethra.
Reactive arthritis occurs in about 30 people per 100,000. For most people, signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis come and go, eventually disappearing within 12 months.
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