Gout And Its Symptoms

                

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Gout is also known as crystal-induced arthritis. It is a medical condition that sets in when uric acid crystals collect on the joints. Uric acid is a metabolic end product that is formed at the time the body breaks down purines present in certain food items. In normal conditions, the uric acid gets dissolved in the blood and gets eliminated from the body through the kidneys into the urine. However, people having a propensity for gout have such high levels of uric acid in their blood that the acid precipitates out in the form of crystals. The crystals get accumulated on the joints and other tissues, leading to inflammation and excruciating pain.

The disease can be hereditary. It is caused mainly by a sedentary lifestyle and by the excessive intake of high-seasoned animal food, and alcohol. The signs and symptoms of gout are as follows:

- Gout seldom occurs before the age of thirty and is much more common in men than in women. In almost 90 percent of incidences of gout, men over the age of 40 and menopausal women are affected. The attack is more liable to occur in the spring or during the fall season than in the summer or winter.

- The first attack of gout generally commences suddenly during the night. The patient experiences acute pain in the first joint of the great toe of one foot, and awakens. By the morning the toe joint becomes much swollen, assumes a bright red tint, and feels very sore to touch.

- Slight chills followed by fever and restlessness may ensue.

- Remission of the pain and the fever occurs towards the morning, and the patient wants some rest. However, in severe cases, there is little relief until the second morning when the pain abates but the joint becomes more swollen.

- When the swelling is pressed by the tip of the finger a depression remains even after the pressure is removed.

- During the fever the patient feels heightened thirst and the urine is scanty.

- The pain, fever and restlessness may recur the following night, but again subside in the morning, and thus the disease continues and lasts from five to ten days if not arrested sooner by treatment.

- The swelling usually persists for some time, and the skin peels off, along with constant itching.

- The first attack heralds the return of the disease after a few years, if the patient does not entirely change his manner of living. Afterwards, the attacks become more frequent. Gradually gout can spread to other parts of the body, like the ankles, the instep, the heels and the knees, the wrists and fingers of the hand and the elbows. Several joints may be affected all at once. In severe cases, after the patient has suffered from repeated attacks, even the shoulders, hips or spine can be affected. Gout does not spread from one joint to the next.

- The very first attack may not always commence in the first joint of the great toe, but may sometimes affect the ball of the foot or the ankle, and occasionally one of the fingers of the hand or the wrist.

- Patients suffering from gout are subject to abject heartburn and sour stomach.

- A chronic condition can lead to the formation of tophi ? lumps formed under the skin due to large deposits on severely affected joints of the elbow, fingers and toes, and even on the external pinna.

- Due to the deposition of the chalky uric acid crystals within and around the joints, movement is hampered and deformity of the joint occurs.

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