One of the most common and complex forms of arthritis is called gout, and it could affect anyone. It is characterized by experiencing sudden and severe pain, swelling, tenderness and redness in the joints. Usually, it first happens in the joint of your big toe.
An attack will happen suddenly and be very painful, which is why it is important that you see the doctor as soon as possible. If you are interested, you could check out the gout treatment medication in Brisbane from arthritisCARE or you could search locally.
Gout can cause severe pain that lasts for 12 hours
Gout symptoms
The signs and symptoms of gout will happen often at night, and they occur suddenly. The symptoms can include:
- Intense joint pain. In most cases, gout will affect the joint of the big toe, but it can happen in any of your joints. Some of the joints that are commonly affected are knees, ankles, wrists, fingers and elbows. After the pains tarts, it will be severe from 4 to 12 hours.
- Discomfort afterwards. After the pain subsides, you can expect to feel some sort of discomfort. The discomfort can last from a couple of days to weeks, all depends on each individual’s case. The attacks that occur after the discomfort passes are going to be a lot more painful.
- Redness and inflammation. You can expect the affected joints to be swollen, tender, red and warm.
- Range of motion. As the disease progresses and if it is untreated, you could experience limited range of motion.
What causes gout?
Patients who have osteoarthritis or psoriatic arthritis have a chance of having gout as well. You can learn more about these forms of arthritis if you check out the medication for osteoarthritis in Brisbane at arthritisCARE, or you can simply talk to your local doctor.
In simple words, gout will happen when the urate crystals gather in your joints, which will cause an inflammation and severe pain. The urate crystals will form if you have a high level of uric acid in the blood. Your body is designed to produce uric acid as it breaks purines down, which are substances that are naturally found in the body.
In normal situations, uric acid will dissolve in the blood and then pass through the kidneys to the urine. However, there are some cases when the body simply produces too much uric acid, or the kidneys could just not excrete enough uric acid. When this happens, the buildup can eventually cause gout.
If it goes untreated, you could experience permanent damage
Final word
There are many things to be considered, but the first thing you should do is visit your doctor. Keep in mind that if gout goes untreated it can cause permanent damage on your joints. Not to mention that it can be very painful. So, schedule a consultation with your doctor, have an open conversation, and your doctor will create the best treatment plan for your particular case!
