What Is Gout
Gout is a form of arthritis, an umbrella term for over 100 forms of rheumatic diseases in the bones and joints, muscles, and other tissues. Gout comprises about 5% of all arthritis cases.
Gout can be an excruciatingly painful condition. Uric acid crystals accumulate in connective tissues and/or in the space between bone joints, eventually leading to an inflammation. The gout sufferer will experience swelling, redness of the skin, sharp pain, and stiffness in the joints. There is a condition that is similar to gout in its symptoms but arises from a build-up of calcium phosphate crystals; this is called pseudo-gout and requires different treatment.
Uric acid is a byproduct of the breakdown purines, protein-like substances which are components of human tissues and can be found in the foods you eat. If your level of uric acid is normal, the crystals will dissolve easily in the blood and filtered by the kidneys for disposal via the urine. If you have too much of it - either because your body is producing more or your kidneys are not disposing enough - uric acid crystals gradually accumulate in the bone joint spaces and cause inflammation. That’s when you experience gout.
Like many people, your big toe will likely be the first to be affected - gout usually affects the big toe in three-fourths of gout sufferers. Eventually, you will have it in the arch of the foot and other key parts of the feet, legs, arms and hands - which are intricate assemblies of bone joints. There are four stages of the disease.
You’re not likely to feel anything in the first stage, as uric acid is just building up. In the second stage, significant deposits of uric acid have accumulated in the joint spaces, causing intense pain and swelling. Acute gout usually occurs at night, and may last up to ten days before subsiding, even without treatment. Over time the attacks will last longer and intervals of occurrence will be shorter. Attacks can also be triggered by stress, illness, alcohol or drugs.
The third stage is benign: it is the interval between acute bouts of gout. You will have normal joint functions at this stage. The most disabling stage is chronic gout. This may develop over long periods, say 10 years; by that time, there may already be permanent damage to the joints and even the kidneys. If you get proper treatment, you will not reach this stage.
The high uric acid levels that cause gout will affect your body in other ways. Uric acid crystals may be deposited and appear as lumps under the skin around the joints or at the edge of your ear. In a more undesirable way, the crystals can accumulate in your kidneys to form kidney stones.
Gout Treatment
If you have a gout attack, many doctors recommend oral doses of ibuprofen or naproxen, available in both prescription and nonprescription versions, or other anti-inflammatory drugs. If you are taking aspirin, your doctor may recommend that you stop it temporarily. Aspirin can slow the elimination of uric acid and make gout worse. But if you take a low dose of aspirin to prevent other problems such as a heart attack, check with your doctor before stopping it.
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