Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that causes pain and swelling in your joints, usually as flares that last for a week or two, and then resolve. Gout flares often begin in your big toe or a lower limb. Gout happens when high levels of serum urate build up in your body, which can then form needle-shaped crystals in and around the joint. This leads to inflammation and arthritis of the joint. When the body makes too much urate, or removes too little, urate levels build up in the body. However, many people with high levels of serum urate will not develop gout.
Areas of the body that can be affected by gout include:
Joints.
Bursae, cushion-like sacs between bones and other soft tissues.
Tendon sheaths, membranes that surround tendons.
Kidneys, because the high uric acid levels can lead to stones and sometimes kidney damage.
Gout is a disease that can move through several stages:
Hyperuricemia, when you have elevated levels of urate in your blood and crystals are forming in the joint, but you do not have symptoms.
Gout flares, when you have an attack of intense pain and swelling in your joints.
Interval or intercritical gout, which is the time between gout attacks when you do not have any symptoms.
Tophi, a late stage of gout when crystals build up in the skin or other areas of the body. Depending on their location, tophi can permanently damage your joints and other internal organs such as the kidneys. Proper treatment can prevent the development of tophi.
With early diagnosis, treatment, and lifestyle changes, gout is one of the most controllable forms of arthritis. Many people avoid gout flares and can decrease the severity of their symptoms, and can even become gout free.