Commonly called as gout, gouty arthritis is a type of arthritis that is characterized by severe  and sudden pain attacks, tenderness and redness in joints. It occurs due to the deposits of needle like crystals of uric acid. Fortunately this complex disorder can be treated and there are various ways by which it can be prevented from occurring again.

Cause of Gouty Arthritis

Gouty Arthritis is caused due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints that result in its inflammation. Uric acid is formed as a waste product from the breakdown of purines which is generally excreted through urine by the kidneys. But when the body excretes this acid less or produces more amounts, this uric acid can start accumulating forming sharp, needle like crystals, called urate, in joints which causes pain, swelling and inflammation.

Sometimes crystals of calcium pyrophosphate dehydrate gets deposited rather than uric acid. This too can lead to another problem known as false gout or pseudogout. However, pseudogout generally affects large joints like the wrists, knees and ankles, but can also affect the big toe.

Symptoms and Signs of Gouty Arthritis

Though the symptoms and signs are acute, the person suffering from gout can feel severe pain, without any warning and often during the night in the joints.

  • Severe Joint Pain
    The feet, knees ankles, wrists and hands are also affected in gouty arthritis other than the large joint of the big toe. The pain lasts for around 5 – 10 days and then it stops. It then leaves the joint as normal and pain free.
  • Inflammation and Redness
    The affected joints swell, tender and become red.

Four different stages of Gouty Arthritis

Gout can be differentiated into four different stages and when the patient receives proper treatment the stages don’t progress.

1.    Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia
This stage usually does not require any treatment. The person only has high level of uric acid in blood and has no other symptoms.
2.    Acute Gout / Acute Gouty Arthritis
In this stage, the uric acid crystals get deposited in various joint spaces, increasing the chances of gouty attacks.
3.    Interval / Inter-critical
In this period of gout, the person has no gouty attacks and also no symptoms. It is between acute gout and chronic gout.
4.    Chronic Tophaceous Gout
In this stage of gouty arthritis, the disease has made permanent damage. This is an advanced stage, and if proper treatment is made in the earlier stages, the disease never reaches to this stage.

Preventing Gouty Arthritis

There is no proper and sure way of preventing gouty arthritis. If you are already under gout attack, the doctor can prescribe certain medicines to reduce the pain and lessen the risk and major future attacks. Some drugs are allopurinol (Zyloprim, Aloprim) and probenecid. These drugs reduce the rate of formation of uric acid in body and accelerate its elimination. The key to prevent gout is patience and keeping the levels of uric acid within permissible range.

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