What are flare ups like?
A gout flare up is painful, inflamed, very sore, reddish and shiny. It often happens between midnight and 5am, and these gout symptoms occur quickly. The attack itself hasnt built up over time, although the underlying condition almost certainly has. You may have a fever, a chill and a loss of appetite. End of the attack If untreated these gout symptoms will peak after one or two days and retreat after five days to a week. All this is telling you that gout is likely. GOUT DIAGNOSIS Age and Sex Well the first question is, are you over 40 and male or female? Although children can get gout (this is rare), gout usually occurs after the age of 40, and in men much more than women. Some say that before the female menopause men are as much as 20 times more likely to catch gout than women. But after the female menopause gout occurs almost equally between the two sexes. If youre under 60 gout usually first attacks the joint of a big toe that connects to the foot bone, or one single joint elsewher
