Gout is different from other forms of arthritis because it is caused by uric acid crystals. The crystals build up and collect in and around the joints. Although gout is progressive like other forms of arthritis, it does not normally attack the bones or other organs, which occurs with rheumatoid arthritis.
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Debra Fulghum Bruce PhD , Healthcare, answeredSee All 3 AnswersGout most commonly attacks the large toe with very severe pain, swelling, and redness in the joint. The pain is often too severe to walk or stand and may be so severe that even the weight of the bedsheets hurts the toe. It can also attack the ankle, knee, elbow or other joints. More than one joint can be painful and swollen at times. The attacks usually go away in a few weeks,, but if untreated, gout can return and cause a severe arthritis with deformity. -
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Kidney stones are frequent in people with gout - they are found in 10% to 25% of people with gout. The likelihood of kidney stones increases as a person's uric acid level increases. Uric acid stones and calcium stones also increase in people with gout.
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Intercritical gout -- the second stage of gout -- is when most untreated people experience a second episode within two years of the first. Around 62% of people have a flare within one year, 78% within two years, and 93% within 10 years. Typically, doctors begin treatment to lower uric acid levels when a person has had at least two flares in one year.
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Hyperuricemia (high uric acid) is a cause of chronic kidney disease in men whose uric acid levels are over 13 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and in women whose levels exceed 10 mg/dL. Some evidence suggests that uric acid damages the kidneys, which also causes hypertension (high blood pressure).
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Discovery Health answeredSee All 2 AnswersGout may not impress those who have never experienced it. A type of arthritis afflicting more men than women, the most common symptom of gout is pain in the big toe. Those who have stubbed a toe and hopped around the room for a few minutes yelling may scoff at this, right? However, the pain of gout is so intense and severe that it may cripple the sufferer; even the slightest touch on the tender spot may propel him or her to scream in anguish. And though the big toe is the most common location for gout-related pain, the unbearable throbbing may spread to the ankles, wrists and elbows, and other joints.
The ancient Greeks used to treat gout attacks with a drug from the crocus lily bulb called colchicine. Not only did they suffer the pain associated with gout, but they then endured a battle of severe diarrhea in consequence to the cure.
If you've ever had an attack of the gout, you're in the company of admirable men. Benjamin Franklin, Alexander the Great, and Charlemagne, as well as Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton all suffered from it gout. Perhaps the most famous sufferer of all was Henry VIII of England, who in addition to having a voracious desire for wives was also quite the glutton. Every evening, he'd indulge in a side of venison accompanied by multiple glasses of wine. This regular diet of meat and alcohol, particularly organ meats like livers and kidneys, may aggravate the condition of gout. It is for this reason that gout has long been regarded as "the disease of kings," because historically, it was kings who could pay for the expense of such a decadent diet.
Now, however, many more people can eat a fatty Western diet, and gout affects now affects approximately 3 million Americans.