What is gout & what are its types?

What is gout?

What is gout & what are its types?

Gout is a common and complicated type of arthritis that causes intense pain, inflammation, and stiffness within the joints. In many cases, the disease affects the large toe (toes).

Episodes of the disease can occur quickly and return periodically, slowly damaging the tissues within the inflamed region.

Also, gout has been linked to an increased incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. It’s the foremost common sort of inflammatory arthritis in men, but women may also be affected, especially after the onset of menopause.

Causes and risk factors:

Normally, uric acid is dissolved within the blood and is excreted within the body through urine. If an excessive amount of uric acid is produced or it’s not eliminated properly, urate can form which may build up within the joints producing the clinical picture of gout.

Excess acid within the blood is termed hyperuricemia and might be the results of eating foods rich in substance, like red meat and seafood.

Types:

There are different stages through which gout progresses. These stages correspond to differing types of gout and are represented by:

Asymptomatic hyperuricemia – uric acid levels could also be high, but no manifestations. At this stage, treatment isn’t necessary, although the crystals formed are stored within the tissues. People at this stage should avoid factors that contribute to the buildup of uric acid;

Acute gout – this stage occurs when uric acid crystals cause acute inflammation and intense pain. It normally disappears within 3 to 10 days. Attacks of this kind are often triggered by stressful events, alcohol and drug use or by cold weather;

Intercritical period – this period is asymptomatic and is found between two acute gout attacks. During this period, uric acid crystals are still stored within the tissues;

Chronic gout to face – is that the most serious kind of gout and causes permanent damage to the joints and kidneys. At this stage, gouty tufts develop i.e. large accumulations of uric acid crystals.

It should be noted that it takes about 10 years to achieve this stage. If Best Rheumatologist in Pune treats the condition in the early stage one can stop the progression of the disease to the present stage.

A condition easily confused with gout is chondrocalcinosis. It’s also called pseudogout, and therefore the symptoms are very similar. The main difference between these two conditions is that the substances accumulated within the joints.

In the case of pseudogout, it’s phosphate, and within the case of gout acid crystals. Also, pseudogout requires a special treatment than gout.

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