Causes and Symptoms of Gout

What is Gout?

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis characterized by strong sudden bursts of pain in the joints. It usually affects toe causing sudden burning pain, stiffness, redness and swelling. However, it can also affect other joints such as foot, ankle and knee. Gout is most common in man and occurs in women only after menopause.

What causes Gout?

Gout is caused by the deposition of too much uric acid in blood which settles down in joints and connective tissues in the form of sharp needles like crystals called mono-sodium urate crystals. The excessive presence of uric acid in blood is a result of a chemical called purine.

Uric acid is produced whenthe body breaks down the chemical purine found in human tissues and purine rich food that we consume such as fish and meat. Most uric acid is eliminated from the body with urine after being carried to kidneys through blood. However, the presence of too much uric acid or failure of its elimination from body leads up to the buildup of uric acid in blood.  This condition is called hyperuricemia. The risk of developing gout is higher inobese people and people who consume too much alcohol, fish and meat. Gout can also be developed in people consuming drugs such as diuretics which interfere with the elimination of uric acid.

What are the symptoms of Gout?

The most common symptoms of gout are the sudden attacks of deep and piercing pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in the affected area which usually occurs at night time. The pain of these attacks can last from few days to many weeks.

How is Gout diagnosed?

The gout can be easily diagnosed by a physician conducting some tests in which synovial fluid is taken by aspiration from your joints to check for the presence of urate crystals. Blood tests can also be taken to measure the amount of uric acid in blood and X-rays to check the condition of bones.

What is the treatment of Gout?

It is possible and easy to cure gout. The pain caused by attacks of gout can be relieved in 3-5 days but to prevent the future attacks, the level of uric acid needs to be reduced which takes time depending on the amount of uric acid in your blood. As per the Jalan Healthcare, for the complete prevention of gout, patients suffering with asymptomatic hyperuricemia also needs to be treated for conditions like obesity, hypercholesterolemia.

Jalan Healthcare is a noted medical healthcare center which uses traditional homeopathic medicines with modern diagnosis.