What is Gout? Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Gout Disease

Gout is a common type of arthritis that has been seen in society from past to present, popularly known as the "king's disease." Affecting both sexes and various age groups, the disease can negatively affect daily life by manifesting with symptoms such as severe pain and swelling in the joints. If symptoms begin to appear, steps should be taken to manage the disease and prevent recurrent attacks. Since gout may indicate high uric acid levels, it should be evaluated by a specialist to prevent it from turning into a long-term problem such as advanced gout or kidney stones.

What is Gout Disease?

Gout is a type of arthritis that manifests itself in the joints, usually the big toe. It can affect a single toe or multiple joints. As a result of inflammation developing due to uric acid crystals accumulating in the joints, symptoms such as severe pain, regional redness, and tenderness may develop. Symptoms occur suddenly and usually begin to manifest at night.

Gout disease often develops due to people's dietary habits. The rate of encountering gout is higher in people who heavily consume too much red meat, shellfish, or beverages containing fructose. Various alcohols can also increase the risk of the disease.

Gout disease can affect overweight individuals more. Since uric acid levels in the blood can increase along with excess weight, this situation can make it difficult for uric acid to be excreted from the body and cause crystallization, leading to gout symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms of Gout?

Gout disease manifests itself with foot swelling or swelling and tenderness occurring in the big toe. In some people, it can also cause involvement in different joint areas. If the symptoms mentioned below are observed, a healthcare institution should be consulted:

Joint pain: If the disease develops, an intense pain can be felt suddenly in the joints. While the pain can be in the big toe, it can also develop in the knees, ankles, and elbows. In some people, symptoms can also be felt in the fingers and wrist. The intensity of the pain increases with the passage of time. Especially after a certain time interval, it can reach a high point.

Regional redness and swelling: Swelling and regional redness can be seen due to inflammation caused by uric acid crystals.

Decreased mobility: If the disease is not treated and progresses, inflammatory reactions will increase, so the swelling in the area may increase, or the person may involuntarily limit their mobility due to the discomfort felt.

How Does Gout Disease Occur?

The cause of gout disease is the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the blood. At the root of crystal formation are chemical compounds called purines, which are commonly found in the human body and foods. Purines are usually easily digested by the human body and turned into uric acid. Then, as a result of metabolic activities, they are excreted from the body through the excretory system. However, excessive consumption of foods with high purine content or an event affecting purine metabolism in the body can increase the blood uric acid level. With increased levels, uric acid can accumulate and turn into a crystal texture, and the resulting crystals can cause pain and inflammation in the tissues. As a result of this situation, gout develops.

Just as diet is an effective topic in the development of gout, kidney functions should also be considered. If the kidneys cannot provide sufficient uric acid excretion, its level in the blood can rise and uric acid crystals can form.

How is Gout Diagnosed?

If symptoms related to the disease develop, a healthcare institution should be consulted. Your physician will take an anamnesis and may ask various questions about whether you have a family history of gout. Then, various tests are applied to determine the severity of the situation or its relation to a different disease:

Joint fluid test: A sample of joint fluid is taken from the joint where symptoms have developed via a needle. Following laboratory examinations, it can be determined whether there are uric acid crystals in the fluid. If crystals are found, the disease can be diagnosed.

Blood tests: Blood tests measure uric acid levels, especially those in the blood. However, having a high uric acid level does not always mean it will cause gout. In addition, uric acid levels in people with the disease may be lower than expected. Therefore, blood tests are used as a supportive method.

Ultrasound: Images can be obtained from the joint area using sound waves. Thus, it can be examined whether there are uric acid crystals in the area.

X-ray: Images taken with X-rays can be used to determine if the only problem is gout.

Dual-energy computed tomography: Uric acid crystals can be imaged thanks to images obtained using X-rays.

How is Gout Treated?

As a result of the examinations, the patient can be easily diagnosed. The treatment procedure is divided into two main branches. The first is to reduce inflammation to relieve existing pain complaints, and the second is to reduce the amount of uric acid in the blood. Within the scope of treatment, your physician may get support from various medications. With the anti-inflammatory drugs to be used, the inflammation in the area can be dispersed. Thus, symptoms such as tenderness and swelling can pass.

With medications to be prescribed that provide uric acid excretion, the accumulation of uric acid can be prevented and supported. In this way, the uric acid level in the blood decreases, and the formation of more uric acid crystals in the joint can be prevented. If a more serious problem is detected in the kidneys, the treatment process can branch into different details.

In addition to drug treatments, measures should also be taken regarding daily life to prevent the recurrence of the disease and accelerate the recovery process. First of all, the consumption of alcohol and beverages containing fructose should be avoided. Red meat, organ meats, and various seafood are rich in purine content, and foods rich in purines need to be restricted. Since overweight individuals have a higher risk of developing gout, patients are advised to lose weight in a healthy way and reach their ideal weight.

Another topic that is good for gout is exercise. Stress on the joints can be reduced by exercising regularly. Finally, attention should be paid to the amount of water consumed daily to support kidney functions.

Frequently Asked Questions

People with gout should avoid consuming foods with high purine content. Diet in gout is an important part of treatment, and individuals should avoid consuming red meat, organ meats such as liver and kidney above the specified level. In addition, the consumption of fish rich in purines such as tuna, anchovies, sardines, mussels, and trout should be stopped. Milk and dairy products should be chosen as low-fat. Genetic factors can be effective in gout. People with a family history of gout have a higher risk of encountering the disease. Gout can cause various complications. First of all, if the treatment of the disease is neglected, attacks may recur. Neglecting treatment can cause a person to have multiple attacks within the same year. Recurrence of the disease and failure to stop inflammation can cause destruction in the joints in the long run. In addition, uric acid crystals accumulated here due to neglected treatment can turn into nodules. The formation of nodules in various places in addition to the affected joint can cause symptoms to become widespread. Gout is usually seen in men. In addition, it can be seen in people who consume too much red meat and shellfish, those who experience excess weight problems, and people with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and kidney diseases. Some medications used can also trigger the development of the disease. There is no direct relationship between gout and stress, but increasing stress levels in the body can indirectly increase uric acid levels in the blood circulation. Increased uric acid levels can aggravate the symptoms of the existing disease or increase the frequency of developing attacks. Symptoms developing with the flare-up of the disease reach a peak point between 4 and 12 hours. The duration of feeling the disease with the developing attack can be 1 or 2 weeks. While symptoms are not experienced between attacks, the intensity of one attack may differ from the previous one. Those who want to apply for treatment to diagnose the disease and prevent its progression can get support from the internal medicine (internal diseases) department of hospitals. The first symptoms of the disease include severe pain and swelling in the joint it involves (usually the big toe). Redness and regional tenderness are added to these symptoms. The symptoms of the disease develop suddenly. When a healthcare institution is consulted as a result of observing symptoms and signs related to the disease, various tests are applied. Within the scope of tests, blood tests and joint fluid tests are performed. Since gout is closely related to the uric acid value, uric acid levels are looked at in the blood test. However, uric acid levels alone may not be sufficient for diagnosis. Following the evaluation of symptoms, a joint fluid test can also be performed, and uric acid crystals can be detected. Excessive red meat consumption, excess weight, having diseases affecting kidney functions, or having metabolic syndrome can trigger gout. Pseudogout is a different type of arthritis characterized by pain and swelling in the joint areas, similar to symptoms developing due to uric acid crystals. In this type called pseudogout, calcium pyrophosphate crystals form instead of uric acid. It is a type of disease that usually emerges with aging. Symptoms such as headache are generally not stated among the symptoms of the disease. Among the symptoms, manifestations such as tenderness, pain, swelling, and redness affecting the joint areas and surrounding tissues are common.

Gout is a serious health problem that can lead to joint damage and kidney problems when left untreated. Specialist evaluation is of great importance to prevent the recurrence of attacks and to create the correct treatment plan. Contact us for detailed information and an appointment.