Thousands of people with the tell-tale signs of arthritis are taking up to 10 years off their lives by putting off going to see their doctor, experts have warned.
A study has shown there is a crucial 'three-month window' when rheumatoid arthritis - which causes stiff, swollen and sore joints - can be slowed down and even stopped in its tracks.
The research suggests the toll of the disease in Britain could be scaled back if it is caught within these early months when symptoms first appear in patients.
But most sufferers with painful knuckles and toes wait longer before visiting their GP.
Left untreated or tackled too late, the crippling condition can lead to people giving up work. Poorly treated rheumatoid arthritis also raises the risk of heart attacks and other cardiac problems.
Dr Karim Raza, a consultant rheumatologist, said: 'Recent trial data has shown that there is a three-month window after the start of symptoms and if you look at the molecules in the joints at that time they are different from what they are at a later stage.
'The data suggests that if you intervene within those three months you can very rapidly slow progression of the disease and in some cases halt it.
'There is also a suggestion that if you intervene aggressively you might in a small proportion of people actually switch off the disease.'
He added: 'A quarter of patients stop working within the first five years of diagnosis.
'And the condition doesn't just affect the joints. On average, people with rheumatoid arthritis die 10 years younger than people without rheumatoid arthritis.'
Modern medicine allows the condition, in which the immune system attacks the joint, to be quickly diagnosed and, in many cases to be effectively treated.
Studies show that given early enough, methotrexate and other pills available on the NHS, can greatly slow the progress of the condition and, in some cases even halt it all together.
But they are most effective if given within the first three months of someone developing early symptoms such as swollen and painful joints.
In extreme cases, eight years pass between the first signs of rheumatoid arthritis and the prescription of pills, the British Science Festival heard.
Dr Raza, whose research is partly funded by Arthritis Research UK, said: 'The patient is the main culprit. On average, patients spent three months thinking about whether to see their GP.
'People think that developing aches and pains is part and parcel of life. They don't think it is serious or they don't want to waste their GPs time.'
One of the most common of the 200 or so types of arthritis, the condition affects twice as many women as men.
Tell-tale signs include a stiffness of the fingers and toes that wears off over the course of the day, rather than worsening with exercise.
The knuckles and other finger joints are particularly susceptible, as the joints between the toes and foot, with both sides of the body affected equally.
Although the rheumatoid arthritis is most common after the age of 40, it can occur at any age.
In osteoarthritis, the most common form of the condition, the problems are not caused by the immune system but by the cartilage that takes the strain in joints getting worn way.
Dr Raza added that the development of tests that would allow the better matching of drugs to patients could see some patients cured by early treatment.
'That's the Holy Grail,' he said. 'There is a precedent in the cancer literature - the more you understand what's going on in a tumour, the more you're able to target treatments and the better the outcomes. We'd like the same to be true of rheumatoid arthritis.'
A spokesman for Arthritis Research UK said: 'The average delay of 12 weeks between the onset of symptoms and going to the GP is something that needs to be urgently tackled, as we know that early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is vital if we want to get the condition under control quickly to prevent joint damage.
'Many people are not aware of rheumatoid arthritis nor how serious it can be, and assume aches and pains in their joints are something to do with over-doing exercise or gardening.
'We have a lot of work to do in raising awareness of rheumatoid arthritis among the general public so that they know to seek their GP's advice as soon as they develop symptoms.'
