Gout pain can typically come with sudden onset of red, swollen and hot joints. If you are getting the first attack of Gout, the experience can be quite painful. In most of the cases, the most common attack area for Gout is the joint of the big toe but almost all the joints are prone to this painful disease. In some patients, the pain can be so severe that even a light bed sheet if kept on the affected joint can cause unbearable pain.
If proper treatment is not sought, the attacks of Gout keep recurring. With time, the Gout attacks can occur more frequently. The attacks may last longer time and the pain can be more severe as well! The earlier attacks may involve a joint or two but with time multiple joints become the target area for the Gouty arthritis.
Gout symptoms and causes:
First of all, let us discuss about the common symptoms of Gout. In almost 75% cases, the first onslaught of the Gout is visible in the big toe. Symptoms in the toes can be severe. You can feel the numb pain in the toes during the attack. Symptoms in foot can be diagnosed with red, hot and swollen feet.
Sometimes you can see the color of the area of the foot changed and that can be one of the common symptoms. Your ankles can also be the target of Gout. Symptoms of Gout in ankle can be very painful too. You will feel excruciating and agonizing pain in your ankle. With severe attack of Gout in the ankle, you cannot even walk properly. If you try to walk with the affected ankles during the Gout attack period, you will feel the sharp and piercing pain in the ankles.
In case of acute Gouty arthritis, symptoms of Gout in knees can take a serious turn. The pain starts usually at night and the feeling can be described as crushing, excruciating, or throbbing. The joint areas appear to be seriously affected by Gout at this stage. Signs of warmth, redness and tenderness can be felt quite frequently. When the knees are affected by the development of Gout, it may sometimes lead to severe problems for the patients. It can gradually start to destroy the cartilaginous tissue present in the tissue joints.
In the earlier stages of Gout, the treatments mainly are anti-inflammatory treatment, physical exercise, diet control and physical therapy. But in case of severe Gouty knee, sometimes the patients may need to go for crucial knee surgery.
With the onset of Gout in almost all parts of the body, the symptoms of Gout in wrist also start to become severe. Critical manifestations of Gout in the wrists are not uncommon. The doctors and the medical professionals encounter such severe cases of acute Gout rather frequently. The acute problem in wrists results in severe pain and restriction of movement. Symptoms of Gout in hands can also be seen with restriction of the free movement of hands and it can be quite debilitating.
The Gout Symptoms can be understood by the stages of Gout. Generally there are three stages of Gout. They are asymptomatic hyperuricemia, acute intermittent Gout, and chronic tophaceous Gout. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia is the first stage and it is related to the elevated uric acid in the blood. Acute intermittent Gout is the inflamed and painful joint condition. The attack generally lasts for two weeks without any treatment and may take lesser time if treated properly. The symptoms can also recur overtime.
Chronic tophaceous Gout is the last stage when the attack of Gout becomes frequent and the joints become highly inflamed and painful. Uric acid crystals may form the lumps underneath the skin. Multiple joints can be affected at this stage. Development of kidney stones can also happen in this stage of Gout attack.
If we talk about the cause of Gout – the main cause is the accumulation of uric acid in the human body. Certain foods that we intake contain high purines. Consuming too much high purine foods is the main cause of this disease. So, it is important to know what to eat and what to avoid. However, some other reasons can also be behind the problem of Gout. Certain medications, hereditary reasons, past injury, etc., can also be responsible for this.
It is, therefore, imperative to proactively look for Gout symptoms and seek medical help to examine if you are susceptible to such attacks. This will save you a lot of pain and suffering. And if you have least of suspicion of Gout – you need to act now. Gout can catch you off-guard which is not at all sensible.
