[Fever, skin changes, myalgia--from early symptom to diagnosis]

New clinical symptoms in the context of rheumatic inflammatory system diseases require the exact knowledge of the anamnestic symptom-characteristic. Fever, skin changes and myalgia are frequent and unspecific symptoms that need a particularly broad-based interdisciplinary approach to identify potential causes. The attending physician can thereby avoid unnecessary, expensive and somewhat stressful tests. This article is intended to give important advice for everyday practice in step-wise diagnostics.