Advice on Gout

An arthritic condition, gout is most common to men aged thirty to sixty but can appear in both men and women of various ages and physical conditions. Gout is most likely to affect the big toe, but can also be present in other parts of the body, usually limbs. The condition causes pain and swelling in the joints, usually one at a time, and affects around one in every hundred people.



Some of the most common places to suffer from gout in are the ankles, heels, instep, elbows, wrists, knees and fingers. Thanks to the inflammation caused by gout, the affected area can become very painful and difficult to use normally. Attacks of gout are recognised by the following symptoms: swelling around the joint, severe pain in the area, mild fever, red and shiny skin around the joint and white bumps beneath the skin that are firm to the touch. These white bumps are called tophi and are crystals formed from urate, a chemical found in the blood. When there is too much urate in the body, the danger of having an attack of gout increases.

Urate is a waste product that is usually passed through your kidneys and removed from the body through urine. However, if your kidneys are not processing the urate fast enough, or your body simply produces too much of it, your levels can get too high. When there is a high level of urate, the chemical can form tiny crystals that are then deposited in the tissues, particularly around the joints. When the crystals get stuck in these areas, the presence of unwanted bodies causes the pain and inflammation. Gout tends to be most common in the fingers and toes because the urate crystals are most likely to get deposited in cooler areas of the body.



Not everybody that has high levels of urate gets gout, and not everybody that gets gout has high urate levels. There are some requisites that could increase your chances of suffering from this condition, however. As already mentioned, men between thirty and sixty are more likely to suffer, as well as post-menopausal women, eat lots of red meat, take diuretics, have a family history, drink a lot of alcohol, are overweight, suffer a joint injury, have psoriasis, take certain types of cancer medications or have certain kidney diseases.



To prevent gout, you can increase your chances of avoiding an attack by eating well and taking exercise, as well as lowering your alcohol intake and achieving a healthy weight.



The author of this article is a part of a digital blogging team who work with brands like Bupa. The contents of this article are of a general nature only and do not constitute specific advice.  This article does not take into account your circumstances or needs and must not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice.