Does this scenario sound familiar to you? It is the middle of the night.
You are having a nightmare.
You are dreaming that your foot is caught in a bear trap and you cannot get it out.
Then along comes a cougar that starts gnawing on your trapped foot.
The pain is unbearable.
You scream.
You wake up from the nightmare sweating.
You are fully awake but for some reason you are still feeling the pain of the cougar munching at your foot! You switch on the light on your bed stand.
No cougar.
What the...
? Your foot is still there, toes intact, but your big toe is:
It might also occur in the:
This can lead to:
Even without treatment, early attacks usually get better within three to ten days.
The next attack may not occur for months or even years.
If you are experiencing acute gout attacks, you need to do a little bit of research to see what are the causes of your attack.
Acute gout might turn into chronic gout if left untreated or unattended.
This will eventually cause the deformity of joints, destruction of the joint surfaces and painless tophi.
Tophi will occur in 30% of those who leave the gout untreated for five years.
Tophi (large lumps under the skin) usually develop on the elbow, Achilles tendon and the helix of the ear.
Tophi, apparently, are not painful, but never the less, not nice to have or look at.
Leaving gout untreated or unattended will eventually lead to kidney stones and kidney dysfunction.
Your health becomes seriously at risk.
Surely you do not want to go down that path!
You are having a nightmare.
You are dreaming that your foot is caught in a bear trap and you cannot get it out.
Then along comes a cougar that starts gnawing on your trapped foot.
The pain is unbearable.
You scream.
You wake up from the nightmare sweating.
You are fully awake but for some reason you are still feeling the pain of the cougar munching at your foot! You switch on the light on your bed stand.
No cougar.
What the...
? Your foot is still there, toes intact, but your big toe is:
- Swollen
- Red
- Hot
- Stiff
- Throbbing with pain.
It might also occur in the:
- Heels
- Ankles
- Insteps
- Elbows
- Fingers
- Wrists.
This can lead to:
- Deposits of sharp needle like uric acid crystals in the joints
- Deposits of chalky coloured uric acid lumps under the skin, called tophi
- Deposits of uric acid crystals in the kidneys forming kidney stones
Even without treatment, early attacks usually get better within three to ten days.
The next attack may not occur for months or even years.
If you are experiencing acute gout attacks, you need to do a little bit of research to see what are the causes of your attack.
Acute gout might turn into chronic gout if left untreated or unattended.
This will eventually cause the deformity of joints, destruction of the joint surfaces and painless tophi.
Tophi will occur in 30% of those who leave the gout untreated for five years.
Tophi (large lumps under the skin) usually develop on the elbow, Achilles tendon and the helix of the ear.
Tophi, apparently, are not painful, but never the less, not nice to have or look at.
Leaving gout untreated or unattended will eventually lead to kidney stones and kidney dysfunction.
Your health becomes seriously at risk.
Surely you do not want to go down that path!