What is Gout?

What is gout? This is probably the question forming inside your mind after you hear your doctor say that this is the condition you are suffering from. In essence, gout is actually a type of arthritis. This means that the reason why you are feeling pain is due to the inflammation of your joints.

What makes gout so excruciatingly painful is the fact that it is caused by the formation of hardened crystals in between your joints and surrounding tissues. In order for you to have an idea of what it looks like, imagine shards of glass embedded in between your toes.

More often than not, gout attacks can happen suddenly and rapidly. You will have no way of knowing that you already have hardening crystals lodged in your joints until you feel the pain, tenderness and swelling. Unless you have surgery or you aggressively address the cause of the problem, the hardened crystals will stay embedded in your joints and you will surely experience gout attacks throughout your life. 

If you do not do anything about the root causes of your condition, which can only be high levels of uric acid in your bloodstream, then it may be possible for several joints in your body to suffer from this condition as well.

Studies have shown that men are at a higher risk of developing this type of arthritis. However, women can also develop this condition especially if they have a family history for this condition and they have huge amounts of uric acid in their system. Other people who are at a potential risk of getting gout are overweight people. 

Although getting answers to the question “what is gout” is important, you still need to learn how to manage the problem and try to treat it effectively. Drinking plenty of water and cherry juice, losing unnecessary weight, eating a diet low in purines, and minimizing intake of alcohol and beer are some of the ways you can do to prevent further gout attacks.