Gout Symptoms And Gout Causes
April 20th, 2011 | Author: Pain
Gout is a very severe form of arthritis and occurs when there is a profusion of uric acid built up in the body. Uric acid is a waste product and builds up due to overloading of the organs including the liver and kidneys. As soon as there is a build up of Uric acid present in the body the consequence can include such as antagonizing pain in the joints all the way through the body, especially appearing in the big toes. Uric acid build up can also result in painful kidney stones.
It is difficult to predict when an attack of gout will occur. Symptoms can develop rapidly over a few hours and usually last for 3-10 days. After this time, the joint will start to feel normal again and any pain or discomfort should eventually disappear completely.
The sooner symptoms are treated, the more quickly the pain will pass. You may experience symptoms every few weeks, months or years, but it is impossible to predict when the condition will recur. Sixty-two per cent of people experience a repeat attack of gout within a year. However, some people only ever experience one attack in their lifetime.
Many times the gout attack can be relentless and very excruciating; equally it often awakens one from sleep when the attack occurs.
Gout symptoms can be broken down into three key stages:
1. The first symptom of gout is acute (sudden and severe) joint pain, usually in the joint of the big toe. Symptoms often develop during the night, although they can occur at any time. Other symptoms of gout include:
- Swelling of joints
- Inflammation of joints
- Shiny red skin over the affected joints
- Itchy and flaky peeling skin over the affected joints
The intense pain that gout causes can make walking and getting around difficult. Even the light pressure of a bed cover or blanket can be painful.
It is at this stage when gout starts to cause injury to the body. The blood becomes incapable of breaking down the elevated level of uric acid and it begins to crystallize and then be deposited in joint spaces. This is when the agony and swelling occurs. Attacks by and large come about during the nighttime and if not treated can continue for weeks at a time. If not treated still the attacks turn out to be more brutal and keep going for longer periods of time.
2. The second stage of gout is the time when an attack of gout has subsided and at this time there are no symptoms but it is because the body’s immune system is stabilizing itself for extra attacks on the uric acid crystals which have become overly concentrated in the blood. If the gout sufferer does not achieve treatment by this stage the disease can be very problematical to control.
3. The third and final stage of gout is when it becomes chronic, which is the nastiest and most destructive stage of the disease. By this stage the gout has caused lasting impairment to the joints and in specific cases the kidneys as well. Equally at this stage the affiliated joint can grow to be deteriorated and cause crippling pain. In extreme cases the kidney can lose its functions, which can subsequently lead to kidney failure and death. Gout is a disease like many others which builds upon itself if not treated at the opening stages. It is vitally important to recognise the gout symptoms at the earliest stages before irreversible damage is done. There are many cases of people achieving an effective cure.