Can you not go out because you feet ache? Do your joints seem to grow like gingers? Is moving become very uneasy for you? You may be suffering with gout. Do you always eat legumes or beans and after eating, you can not even stretch your fingers? You may be suffering from gout.

What is gout?

Gout is a disease caused by congenital disorder in uric acid metabolism. Uric acid is a product of waste material found in the urine and blood from the chemical processes of the body. In case of gout, the monosodium urate or more popularly called the uric acid crystals are being deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons and surrounding tissues. The crystal deposits are due to the increase of uric acid concentration in the blood stream.

Gout is characterized by inflammation of the tissues that could also burst through the skin. That is why people suffering with gout sometimes have sinuses discharging a material white as chalk. Moreover, gout is also known as metabolic arthritis.

Gout Signs and Symptoms

Gout has visible symptoms. Persons with gout usually suffer with swelling and pain in the joints especially in the hands a nd feet. There is also an The presence of agonizing, sudden, unexpected burning pain, redness of skin in the areas affected, warmness and stiffness of the joints are also felt. Sometimes, patients also become feverish. The crystals inside the joints and the inflammation of the tissues around the joints cause the pain. These tissues also cause the skin to swell, tender and sore. Many patients, due to extreme pain, may not even allow other people to touch the affected areas.

Where Gout Attacks?

Gout usually attacks in the upper and lower extremities especially when these parts of the body lack exercise. The lack of exercise could cause the crystals to be easily deposited because the joints are at rest and the blood is also flowing into a smoother flow. However, almost 75 percent of first attacks of gout are recorded in the big toe. But aside from not, gout is not limited to the big toe, it could also attack other joints in the feet and hands like in the ankle, heel, instep, knee, wrist, elbow, fingers, and spine. Gout in the spine often results in backaches and difficulty in moving because the spinal column becomes stiff. Poor blood circulation in fingers due to earlier injury could also lead to gout.

Since the kidney is responsible in filtering the blood stream, a malfunction of the kidneys could also lead to gout because of the high levels of uric acid that the system is not able to eradicate.

Men between the ages of 40 and 50 are most prone in developing gout. Protein-rich foods are often the cause of high levels of uric acid. Alcohol intake could also affect the level of uric acid and can cause acute attacks of gout. Moreover, the development of gout could also be a result of hereditary factors.

Diagnosis of Gout

People with high levels of uric acid in the blood are could also not develop gout as long as the urate is within the normal range. However, when a person suspects that he or she is already developing gout, the urate test should be administered after the attack has subsided. Through complete blood count, the level of uric acid in the blood is also determined. Other tests include electrolytes, renal function and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Early diagnosis of gout could prevent the patient to develop severe arthritis.