Did your toe / ankle / knee swell up out of nowhere and resolved in a few days? You may be having “GOUT ARTHRITIS”
When we think about arthritis, we usually imagine of diseases in which the joints gradually become swollen and painful over many years, eventually becoming deformed. However, there are certain types of arthritis in which joint pain and swelling can “develop suddenly within a matter of hours”, become almost unbearable, and then improve over a few […]
Gout is a form of arthritis that can cause sudden joint pain and swelling, often affecting the big toe, ankle, knee, wrist, elbow, or fingers. The pain can be severe and may improve within a few days with or without treatment. Gout occurs when there is an elevated level of uric acid in the body. Uric acid can deposit as crystals in and around the joints, triggering an immune system reaction that leads to sudden inflammation and the characteristic symptoms of a gout attack.
Unfortunately, not everyone with high uric acid levels develops gout, so diagnosis can sometimes be challenging for doctors. Misconceptions may arise, such as assuming the joint inflammation is caused by a bacterial infection, cellulitis, or septic arthritis. However, these symptoms can be similar to gout, leading to unnecessary antibiotic treatment. It is essential to distinguish gout from infections since antibiotics do not treat gout.
Repeated gout attacks can damage joints and surrounding tissues over time. If left untreated or if uric acid levels remain high, gout can lead to serious complications like kidney damage (urate nephropathy) and kidney stones (urate nephrolithiasis). The kidneys may have difficulty removing uric acid from the blood, especially in individuals with genetic predispositions to gout.
Interestingly, the blood uric acid level can be normal during an acute gout attack, which may lead doctors to incorrectly diagnose the patient with an infection. This is why it is crucial to check uric acid levels again after the acute attack has subsided, typically around 2-4 weeks later.
Treatment for gout involves two main aspects: short-term management to control symptoms and long-term urate-lowering therapy. Short-term treatment focuses on alleviating pain and inflammation, while long-term treatment aims to lower and maintain the body's uric acid level within a target range to prevent recurrent attacks and complications.
Gout can present in different stages, including intercritical gout, chronic gout, and tophaceous gout, which may cause visible lumps and swelling under the skin. With proper treatment, patients can manage the disease and maintain normal joint and kidney function.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
