What is Gout and What are the Top Symptoms of Gout?

What is GoutIf you suspect that you or a loved one is suffering from the painful condition known as gout, it’s important to confirm your suspicion and find relief. In this article we’ll first answer the important question: Just what is Gout? Then we’ll discuss the symptoms of gout, as well as the best way to diagnose it.

What is Gout?

Simply put, gout is one of the most painful types of arthritis. Gout was historically known as
“the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”, but today it has become prevalent across all populations.

Part of this increase is the longer life expectancy we enjoy today, and some of its’ increase has been blamed on the Standard American Diet (SAD). We discuss the causes of gout in another (link) article. Gout affects 1-2% of the Western today, and accounts for 5-10% of arthritis.

Gout is a part of the arthritis family because, like other arthritis cases, gout is an inflammation of the joints. What makes gout different from other arthritic conditions, is that gout is caused by an excess of uric acid.

This uric acid becomes lodged in the body’s connective tissue between the two bones. In other words, it’s lodged in the joints. Unfortunately, these crystals are painful, in that they are similar to tiny, crystallline needles, which jab into the surrounding tissues. This condition irritates the joint and causes inflammation.

There are a number of joints that can be affected with gout, but for some reason, the big toe is affected more than any other joint (in more than 45% of all gout cases).

Symptoms of Gout:

Gout can present in a variety of ways, but here are some of the most common symptoms of gout:

Frequent arthritis attacks
Painful swelling of the big toe, ankle, knees, wrists and/or heels
Joint pain usually begins at night, lasting 2-3 hours (due to lowered body temperature)
High fever and fatigue may also be present
Lumps under the skin
Long-standing elevated uric acid levels (determined by a doctor)
Note: Kidney stones are a form of gout, but may not be present in all cases of gout

Gout can also occur in combination with other medical conditions. Some of these conditions may actually help cause gout in the first place. In other cases, both gout and the secondary medical condition share the same cause.

The main conditions that often co-exist with gout are: obesity, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, hypertension.

Gout Remedy ReportIt is virtually impossible to diagnose this disease on your own, simply by observing the symptoms of gout. In order to be absolutely sure that you have gout, you’ll need to get diagnosed by a physician.

Diagnosis of gout is confirmed by testing a sample of the fluids found in the joints. If the uric acid crystals are found, you can be sure you have gout.

Once a diagnosis is confirmed you can begin one of several gout treatment options. We recommend downloading the Gout Remedy Report to learn more about the symptoms of gout and how to treat them.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

High blood cholesterol

Common Cold

Acid Reflux in Kids