What Is Gout?
Gout is a kind of arthritis caused by uric acid crystals forming in one or more joints. Uric acid is a substance that forms when your body breaks down a substance called purines. This substance normally dissolves in your blood and passes through your kidneys into your urine. In people who have gout, uric acid builds up and can then form sharp crystals in the joint space. This causes pain and swelling in the affected joints.
Written by DynoMed.com, Indianapolis, IN An ancient disease, gout is a chronic type of inflammatory arthritis that causes immediate attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in some joints. Usually, the joints in the big toe are affected, but gout can also affect the instep, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers and elbows. Once believed to be the result of gluttony, gout is now known to affect people from all walks of life and often the disease is inherited. Less than one in ten women will develop gout. About 500,000 people have gout in the United States, with most being men between the ages of 30 and 60. Gout accounts for about 5 percent of all cases of arthritis.
A form of arthritis that is a painful inflammation and swelling of the joints caused by the buildup of uric acid in the body. Certain foods cause gout so diet plays a role. Treatment of gout can be acheived through medication and proper diet. Gout Symptoms The most common gout symptom is sudden, severe attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in some joints. It usually affects one joint at a time, especially the joint of the big toe, but can also affect the knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist and elbow. Deposits of uric acid, called tophi, can appear as lumps under the skin around the joints and at the rim of the ear. In addition, uric acid crystals can also collect in the kidneys and cause kidney stones.
What is hyperuricemia? Gout is a disease that results from an overload of uric acid in the body. This overload of uric acid leads to the formation of tiny crystals of urate that deposit in tissues of the body, especially the joints. When crystals form in the joints it causes recurring attacks of joint inflammation (arthritis). Chronic gout can also lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around the joints and may cause joint destruction, decreased kidney function, and kidney stones. Gout has the unique distinction of being one of the most frequently recorded medical illnesses throughout history. It is often related to an inherited abnormality in the body’s ability to process uric acid. Uric acid is a breakdown product of purines that are part of many foods we eat. An abnormality in handling uric acid can cause attacks of painful arthritis (gout attack), kidney stones, and blockage of the kidney-filtering tubules with uric acid crystals, leading to kidney failure. On the othe
Gout is a form of arthritis. Arthritis means inflammation of a joint that can occur at any age, but affects older people the most. Gout is the build up of uric acid crystals in the joint fluid. The difference in gout and any other type of arthritis is that it contains itself in specific areas of the body. Most affected are the big toe, ankle, knee, wrist and elbow.
