Symptoms Of Gout

By Erlinda Bartlett

Gout is a very painful form of arthritis that results from buildup of uric acid in the blood stream. It has some unique signs and symptoms which makes its identification relatively easy. If the body is overloaded such that it is unable to excrete excess uric acid, the result is build up of the acid in the blood which causes pain in the joints and other parts of the body. If the levels of Uric acid in the blood are not checked, it could easily lead to kidney stones.

It is so difficult for a person to predict when gout will strike but most often the flare up will come at night. When it strikes, the affected part becomes extremely painful. This part becomes extremely tender, reddened and swollen. Gout will most often affect the big toe but it could also be in other part of the body for example ankle, knee, foot, finger, wrist, and elbow and so on.

Symptoms of gout are more severe when it attacks an older person for example older the 50 years. The person may suffer attack on more than one joint which makes the pain to be so unbearable. At this age, there is also likelihood that the joints in the upper parts of the body will be affected more than the joints in the lower parts of the body.

Gout attack can be divided into four main stages

Stage one- at this stage, a person does not have any pain but has elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. There are no symptoms at this stage,

Stage two- The second stage is characterized by a sudden pain which most often will affect the joints on the big toe. Other symptoms at this stage will include; swollen joints, inflamed joints, peeling of skin around the infected part as well as the skin becoming red and shinny around the infected parts. At this stage, the disease has begun causing real damage to body organs. The body is unable to break excess uric acid and therefore the acid crystallizes and is deposited on the joints. At this stage, the pain will last for some days, then go away and then recur after some time.

Third stage- This stage does not have any significant symptoms. Many people will think that the gout has gone completely. At this time, the body has built immune system against the disease hence the lack of symptoms. On the other hand, more crystals of uric acid are being formed and deposited. The body is preparing itself for the next stage of attack.

Forth stage- this is the most destructive stage of the disease. It is too difficult to treat at this stage as permanent damage has already been done. The pain at this stage is excruciating and the patient may cripple. Due to the increased deposition of uric acid crystals, the kidney may lose its functionality which may eventually lead to death.

It is not difficult to establish that one is suffering from gout in the initial stages because its symptoms are clear. For this reason, one should take appropriate treatments early enough to ensure that the infection does not proceed to destructive stages.

Gout is a very painful form of arthritis that results from buildup of uric acid in the blood stream. It has some unique signs and symptoms which makes its identification relatively easy. There is many natural remedys for gout we have a few listed here at gout in the knee