Are you afraid that you might have gout, but you don't know the symptoms of gout? Perhaps you believe that this is a long-gone disease, but it's not so, and up to 1% of adults have gout.
Gout attacks can be extremely painful and impair your freedom of movement.
So, how can you tell if you are suffering from this disease? This article will provide you with basic information on the symptoms of gout.
But first, let's take a quick look at what exactly gout is.
This disease, also called gouty arthritis, is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood.
As this crystallizes, it deposits itself in the joints, tendons and surrounding tissues, causing the sufferer a great amount of pain.
So, what are the main symptoms? The classic symptoms include pain around the joints and extreme pain during sleep or when you are trying to sleep.
Pain can occur while you do a psychical activity, so if you experience trouble when you exercise, check with your doctor immediately.
The joint pains can be preceded by tenderness, warmth, swelling or redness in the impacted areas.
For example, you could have your big toe red and swollen before the acute pain starts.
Small lumps beneath the surface of the skin are also common around the affected areas, so you should watch out for those.
Now that you know what the main symptoms of gout are, you can keep a careful eye, taking care of your health and trying to prevent gout attacks.
You can find lots of useful information online, and especially a great number of natural treatments for gout.