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The arthritic condition can affect many parts of the body such as the hands, wrists, knees, feet and ankles.
This painful condition is the result of a build-up of uric acid (urate) in the blood. If uric acid isn’t excreted properly, it can form tiny crystals in the joints and soft tissues. As a result, gout is also often referred to as “crystal deposit disease”.
Uric acid is produced by the breakdown of purines, which can be found in foods such as shellfish, spinach, salmon, trout and turkey, to name a few sources.
Who gets it?
Although historically known as the disease of kings or people wealthy enough to afford rich food and drink, gout can strike anyone who overindulges. the condition is shown to be especially prevalent among men in their 40s and 50s but by age 60, gout affects men and women almost equally. After age 80 more women than men have gout.
Diagnosis
Many types of inflammatory arthritis, including gout, cause hot, inflamed and stiff joints. However, just because a person displays some of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean they have gout.
For this reason, getting the diagnosis right is of utmost importance. You should see a doctor for any kind of joint pain to get an accurate diagnosis.
Your doctor may employ the following techniques to determine whether you have gout:
• He or she will discuss your history of symptoms. This can lead to a diagnosis by itself. Gout usually presents in one joint at a time, while other arthritic conditions, such as systemic lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, usually involves multiple joints simultaneously.
• Your doctor will proceed with a thorough examination to confirm the suspicion of gout.
• Blood tests may support the diagnosis by showing high uric acid levels, but these levels are also sometimes elevated in the absence of gout. Equally, the uric acid in the blood may be normal in some cases of acute gout. The diagnosis is a clinical one in many cases, made from the history and the examination, and special tests may be normal.
• A definite diagnosis can be made if the needle-shaped uric acid crystals are found in your tissue or joint fluids. A small part of the suspected tissue can be removed under local anaesthetic. Alternatively, a sample of fluid can be removed from the affected joint. This can be quite painful, but provides useful information. The doctor will examine the material under the microscope to look for crystals. A special polarised light microscopy technique is also used to see the crystals.
• X-rays can show punched-out lesions in the bone just underneath the cartilage of the joint, commonly in the joint of the big toe. Tophi (a mass of uric acid crystals) may also be seen on X-rays.
This painful condition is the result of a build-up of uric acid (urate) in the blood. If uric acid isn’t excreted properly, it can form tiny crystals in the joints and soft tissues. As a result, gout is also often referred to as “crystal deposit disease”.
Uric acid is produced by the breakdown of purines, which can be found in foods such as shellfish, spinach, salmon, trout and turkey, to name a few sources.
Who gets it?
Although historically known as the disease of kings or people wealthy enough to afford rich food and drink, gout can strike anyone who overindulges. the condition is shown to be especially prevalent among men in their 40s and 50s but by age 60, gout affects men and women almost equally. After age 80 more women than men have gout.
Diagnosis
Many types of inflammatory arthritis, including gout, cause hot, inflamed and stiff joints. However, just because a person displays some of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean they have gout.
For this reason, getting the diagnosis right is of utmost importance. You should see a doctor for any kind of joint pain to get an accurate diagnosis.
Your doctor may employ the following techniques to determine whether you have gout:
• He or she will discuss your history of symptoms. This can lead to a diagnosis by itself. Gout usually presents in one joint at a time, while other arthritic conditions, such as systemic lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, usually involves multiple joints simultaneously.
• Your doctor will proceed with a thorough examination to confirm the suspicion of gout.
• Blood tests may support the diagnosis by showing high uric acid levels, but these levels are also sometimes elevated in the absence of gout. Equally, the uric acid in the blood may be normal in some cases of acute gout. The diagnosis is a clinical one in many cases, made from the history and the examination, and special tests may be normal.
• A definite diagnosis can be made if the needle-shaped uric acid crystals are found in your tissue or joint fluids. A small part of the suspected tissue can be removed under local anaesthetic. Alternatively, a sample of fluid can be removed from the affected joint. This can be quite painful, but provides useful information. The doctor will examine the material under the microscope to look for crystals. A special polarised light microscopy technique is also used to see the crystals.
• X-rays can show punched-out lesions in the bone just underneath the cartilage of the joint, commonly in the joint of the big toe. Tophi (a mass of uric acid crystals) may also be seen on X-rays.
