What Is Gout? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, And Prevention

Content

• Health & Wellness
• Gout Prevalence And Relationship To Sociodemographic Variables
• What Does Gout Look Like?
• When To Get Tested For Gout

But the disease actually progresses through four stages, from the silent buildup of uric acid in the blood to chronic arthritis. Here’s what’s happening at each stage, and how to keep your gout from progressing to the next level. Gout is a type of arthritis best known for its painful attacks on the big toe. In fact, this inflammation of the big toe—also known as podagra—occurs at some point in as many as 80% of people with gout. These agents decrease the serum uric acid level by increasing renal excretion.

What are the 4 stages of gout?

The 4 Stages of Gout Progression (and How to Stop Gout from Getting Worse)Stage 1: High Uric Acid Levels.
Stage 2: Acute Gout.
Stage 3: Intercritical Gout.
Stage 4: Chronic Gout.
How to Know If Your Gout Is Progressing.
What Makes Gout Get Worse.
How Gout Treatment Prevents Disease Progression.
Can Gout Be Cured?

It has been shown that lower doses of colchicine are as effective as high doses for an attack of gout, and much better tolerated. Assuming no other medical problems that require an adjusted dose, for an attack of gout a patient would receive two tablets of colchicine, 0.6mg each, as soon as possible after a gout attack starts. They would then receive one additional tablet an hour later.

Health & Wellness

Dosage and duration of allopurinol use were not quantified, nor were serum urate levels; therefore, adherence and optimization of treatment were only indirectly assessed. To help prevent future gout attacks, your health care professional may suggest a medicine to lower the amount of uric acid in your blood. If you have a flare-up of gout, see a doctor right away. The sooner you get treatment, the sooner you'll get relief.

Almost 20% of the patients in both genders had a first flare within the first year of follow-up. However, after the first year of follow-up men had a greater cumulative proportion of developing a first flare compared with women. The main characteristics of the gout population were described using descriptive statistics. The number of flares within the whole study period and the average number of flares per year of observation were then calculated. The association of various socio-demographic and clinical characteristics with the numbers of flares was assessed by means of a likelihood ratio test.

Gout Prevalence And Relationship To Sociodemographic Variables

It also can affect other joints such as the knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist and elbow. In rare cases, it may later affect the shoulders, hips or spine. Do not receive KRYSTEXXA if you have a rare blood problem called glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency or favism.

Arthritis Topics

However, both the white blood cells and ESR may be elevated due to gout in the absence of infection. A white blood cell count as high as 40.0×109/l (40,000/mm3) has been documented. Gout frequently occurs in combination with other medical problems. Metabolic syndrome, a combination of abdominal obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, and abnormal lipid levels, occurs in nearly 75% of cases. Other conditions commonly complicated by gout include lead poisoning, kidney failure, hemolytic anemia, psoriasis, solid organ transplants, and myeloproliferative disorders such as polycythemia. A body mass index greater than or equal to 35 increases male risk of gout threefold.

What foods make gout worse?

Foods and drinks that often trigger gout attacks include organ meats, game meats, some types of fish, fruit juice, sugary sodas and alcohol. On the other hand, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, soy products and low-fat dairy products may help prevent gout attacks by lowering uric acid levels.

It used to be thought that gout was caused only by lifestyle and diet, but new research has found that's not true; instead, gout is thought to have a genetic link. Sometimes an acute gouty arthritis attack has a sudden onset at nighttime. The big toe joint pain may be so severe that even the weight of bedsheets causes discomfort. Doctors can also do a blood test to measure the levels of uric acid in the blood, but, as mentioned, people with high uric acid levels do not always experience gout.

Experiencing recent surgery or trauma can sometimes trigger a gout attack. In some people, receiving a vaccination can trigger a gout flare. Gout causes intense pain and swelling around one or more joints. Gout most commonly affects the joint at the base of the big toe. An attack of gout can occur suddenly, often waking you up in the middle of the night with the sensation that your big toe is on fire.

What Does Gout Look Like?

Read the labels of any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you take to be sure they don't contain aspirin. While the skin rash sometimes can be serious, other side effects usually are not serious and may go away as your body gets used to the medicine. If any side effects continue to bother you, contact your doctor.

However, a diet very low in purines is extremely difficult to follow, because purines are a natural part of many healthy foods. Even when a diet very low in purines is followed strictly, the uric acid level in the bloodstream is only slightly lowered. Home remedies for an acute gout attack include drinking plenty of water. If your uric acid levels remain high after a gout attack, doctors may prescribe medication that can lower your levels. To diagnose gout, doctors usually will evaluate your symptoms and ask about your medical and family history. They also will examine the affected joint and may take a fluid sample from the joint to look for uric acid crystals.

Incidence And Frequency Of Flares

A patient with numerous acute attacks, or tophi, requires drugs called allopurinol that lower the uric acid level in the body. But these prevent attacks of gout rather than treating an attack. If the blood uric acid is high but a person has never had an attack of gout, treatment is rarely needed. But people with extremely elevated levels may need regular testing for signs of kidney damage. And they may need long-term treatment to lower their uric acid levels.

Cleveland Clinic offers expert diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for bone, joint or connective tissue disorders and rheumatic and immunologic diseases. The prognosis for gout is excellent if you are properly diagnosed and treated. Serious allergic reactions can occur with pegloticase, including life-threatening anaphylaxis. Febuxostat can be used in patients with mild to moderate kidney impairment. Febuxostat Febuxostat is the first new medication developed specifically for the control of gout in over 40 years.

Preventing Recurrent Attacks

Patients may be able to provide some treatment guidance. Acute attacks usually are managed with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , colchicine or steroids , depending on the patient's comorbidities and potential medication interactions, he said. This test uses sound waves to detect urate crystals in joints or in tophi.