overview
Gout is a common and complex form of arthritis that can affect anyone. It is characterized by sudden and severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness, and tenderness in one or more joints, usually the big toe.
A gout attack can be sudden and often wakes you up in the middle of the night with the feeling that your big toe is on fire. The affected joint is hot, swollen, and so tender that even the weight of the sheet can seem unbearable.
Symptoms of gout can come and go, but there are ways to help reduce symptoms and prevent flare-ups. Gout Treatment in Nizamabad
symptoms
Big toe gout
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The signs and symptoms of gout almost always come on suddenly, and often at night. They include:
- Severe joint pain. Gout usually affects the big toe but can occur in any joint. Other joints commonly affected are ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers. The pain will likely be most severe within four to 12 hours of starting.
- Persistent discomfort. After the worst of the pain has subsided, some joint symptoms can last a few days to a few weeks. Subsequent seizures are likely to last longer and affect more joints.
- Inflammation and redness. The affected joint or joints become swollen, tender, hot, and red.
The reasons
Gout occurs when crystals of urate build up in your joint, causing the inflammation and severe pain of a gout attack. Urate crystals can form if you have high levels of uric acid in your blood. Your body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines – substances that occur naturally in your body.
Purines are also found in some foods, including red meat and organ meats like liver. Purine-rich seafood includes anchovies, sardines, clams, scallops, trout, and tuna. Alcoholic beverages, especially beer, and beverages sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose) promote higher uric acid levels. Gout Treatment in Nizamabad
Risk factors
You are more likely to develop gout if your body has high levels of uric acid. Factors that increase uric acid levels in your body include:
- Diet. If you eat a diet high in red meat and shellfish and drink beverages sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose), uric acid levels increase, which increases your risk of gout. Drinking alcohol, especially beer, also increases your risk of gout.
- Lester. When you’re overweight, your body makes more uric acid and your kidneys have a harder time eliminating uric acid.
- Diseases. Certain diseases and conditions increase your risk of gout. These include untreated high blood pressure and chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and heart and kidney diseases.
- Certain drugs. Low-dose aspirin and some medicines used to control high blood pressure – including thiazide diuretics, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and beta blockers – can also increase uric acid levels. The same goes for the use of anti-rejection drugs prescribed to people who have had an organ transplant.
- Family history of gout. If other family members have had gout, you are more likely to develop the disease. Gout Treatment in Nizamabad