A suddenly painful joint that feels hot – this is what people experience during a gout attack. The cause is too much uric acid in the blood, which leads to an inflammatory reaction in the joints. Learn how to keep uric acid in balance and prevent gout attacks.
What is gout and what are the symptoms of a gout attack??
Alarm in the joints: Gout is a metabolic disease that mainly affects the joints. If there is too much uric acid in the body, tiny uric acid crystals form. These are deposited especially in the joints. Can trigger episodes of inflammation here. Such an Gout attack usually develops within a few hours, often overnight: The joints suddenly become very swollen and painful. They are overheated, reddened and very sensitive to prere – Other typical signs of gout. Mostly first gout attack affects only one small joint, often the joint of the big toe. In others, however, the inflammation includes other joints, such as the knees, elbows, wrists, fingers, metatarsals and ankles.
Most people with gout experience such attacks of gout again and again. Sometimes months or even years pass before another attack is imminent. In other humans they occur more frequently. Such an acute gout attack often subsides on its own when the uric acid level in the blood returns to normal. In chronic gout, when the disease persists for several years, the joints are usually permanently slightly inflamed and joint damage may occur. In addition, uric acid crystals can collect over time in so-called gout nodules, which are found especially under the skin or near the wrists and ankles. However, this has become very rare, as gout can be treated well nowadays.