Gout Symptoms
Gout symptoms typically incorporate severe, excrutiating pain in joints of the extremities, swelling, warmth, and tenderness of these joints, and attacks that last for a few days and then subside.
Acute attacks usually occur suddenly during the night and first affect the big toe. However the instep, ankle, knee, wrist and elbow are also common sites. These gout symptoms usually become progressively worse over a few hours. These joints would show swelling, heat and tenderness. The skin would also become very tight and can turn a puplish colour.
Gout Symptoms
Initially the gout symptoms only appear at one joint but as the disease progresses, the gout symptoms begin affecting several joints simultaneously. As time passes and gout remains untreated, the gout symptoms reoccur more frequently. Other related gout symptoms include the pattern of inflammation. When multiple joints are affected, gout symptoms can be affecting some while others are subsiding. Comparing this to rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects joints at the same time and subsides at the same time.
Another one of the gout symptoms are the formation of Tophi. Tophi are simply painless deposits of uric acid or calcium crystals. However, depending where they form, they can become acutely inflamed and painful. This would occur if they form in a place where there is a lot of wear, tear, and pressure such as the knees or elbows. These tophi can even erupt through the skin and release a chalky substance composed of uric acid crystals.
Long-term gout symptoms include formation of kidney stones, progressive renal damage, and hypertension.