Gout: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

 Gout is a general term for a variety of conditions caused by uric acid build-up. This build-up generally affects your feet.

If you have gout, you will probably feel swelling and pain in the joints in your foot, especially in the big toe. Sudden, severe pain, or gout attacks, can make your foot feel like it's on fire.

Some people have too much uric acid in their blood, but they have no symptoms. This is called asymptomatic gout.

For acute gout, symptoms appear quickly due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joint and last for 3 to 10 days.

You will have severe pain and swelling, and the joint may feel warm. Between gout attacks, you will not have any symptoms.

If you don't treat gout, it can become chronic. Eventually, hard lumps called tophi can develop in the joints and the skin and soft tissues around them. These deposits can permanently damage your joints.

Prompt treatment is important to prevent gout from becoming chronic. Knowing how to spot symptoms can help you get to your doctor before gout can cause permanent problems.

The buildup of uric acid in the blood due to the breakdown of purines causes gout.

Certain conditions, such as blood and metabolism disorders or dehydration, cause your body to make too much uric acid.

A kidney or thyroid problem, or an inherited disorder, can make it harder for your body to get rid of excess uric acid.

You are more likely to get gout if:

• are a middle-aged man or postmenopausal woman
• have parents, siblings, or other family members with gout
• drink alcohol
• taking medications such as diuretics and cyclosporine
• have a condition such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, or sleep apnea

In some people with gout, diet is the cause. Find out which foods are especially high in gout-producing purines.

Your doctor can diagnose gout based on a review of your medical history, a physical exam, and your symptoms. Your doctor will likely base his diagnosis on:

• your description of your joint pain
• how often you have experienced severe pain in the joint
• how red or swollen the area is

Your doctor may also order a test to check for uric acid build-up in your joint. A sample of fluid taken from your joint can show if it contains uric acid. Your doctor may also want to take an X-ray of your joint.

If you have symptoms of gout, you can start with a visit to your primary care doctor. If your gout is severe, you may need to see a specialist in joint diseases.

If left untreated, gout can eventually lead to arthritis. This painful condition can leave your joint permanently damaged and swollen.

The treatment plan your doctor recommends will depend on the stage and severity of your gout.

Medications to treat gout work in two ways: they relieve pain and reduce inflammation, or they prevent future gout attacks by lowering uric acid levels.

Medications to relieve gout pain include:

• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin (Bufferin), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve)
• colchicine (Colcrys, Mitigare)
• corticosteroids

Medications that prevent gout attacks include:

• xanthine oxidase inhibitors, such as allopurinol (Lopurin, Zyloprim) and febuxostat (Uloric)
• probenecid (Probalan)