what is gout?

Answer 1

Something you get normally from drinking too much alcohol, but spicy food can cause it too. Your foot would swell up.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

What is gout? has been answered well already. Here the docs recommend no red meat! None at all. No Beer! They also list a whole host of other foods to be avoided, like tomatoes etc. Sufferers who abstain from the forbidden foods suffer far fewer bouts of pain. (fancy meds are either not available or far too expensive here) The diet restrictions DO work, but are not fool proof. Besides a lot of people start to feel ok and then, well, I'll just have ....... and of course they regret that the next day! So talk to your doc about dietary control before you start resorting to over kill with drugs. You may also need drugs, but you should never rely only on these, its not good for you, but fantastic for the drug manufacturers.

Answer 4

Gout is of the arthritis family and it affects the joints, usually in the big toe. It can be treated with prescription medication. Persons who have it should limit how much protein and rich food they eat and not consume alcohol. You can find a lot of information about it on line. Watch out for the quackery.

Answer 5

gout is a disease characterized by increase in the uric acid level leading to deposition of the crystals in joint spaces and causing joint pain...well some patients even have the deposition with about normal levels of uric acid but deposition of the crystals is universal...generally presents as pain in the large toe..called podagra

Answer 6

uric acid that crystilzes in joints, a good treatment is cherry juice or cherry pie filling.

Answer 7

build up of uric acid in the system, which eventually precipitates in a single (or multiple) joints.

Answer 8

Hey there......
Apparently there are 2 "Types" of gout.
I included a "Brief" explaination of each. If you click on each link, pertaining to each "Type", you can then read further so you can have a better understanding of each.
Both include...Medications, Treatments, Home Treatments, Day To Day, What To Aviod, More On Causes, Frequency Of Attacks, Diet, Etc...

#1) Arthritis:
Gout
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/78/95591.htm

Gout is a form of arthritis (an inflammation of the joints) that causes sudden, severe attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling (inflammation) in some joints. It usually affects one joint at a time.
The large toe is most often affected, but gout also can affect other joints in the leg (knee, ankle, and foot) and, less often, joints in the arm (hand, wrist, and elbow). The fingers are rarely involved and the spine is almost never affected.

What Are the Symptoms of Gout?
The symptoms of gout include:
Sudden, intense joint pain, which often can wake a person from sleep.
Swollen joint that is warm to touch.
Red or purple skin around the joint.
If someone has gout on and off for years, eventually uric acid crystals may accumulate in the body to form gritty nodules called "tophi." These nodules can appear as lumps under the skin near joints, at the rim of the ears or in the kidneys.
Uric acid comes from the natural breakdown of the genetic material in cells, RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Some foods contain large amounts of uric acid, especially red meats and organ meats (such as liver and kidneys), as well as some shellfish and anchovies.
Uric acid in normal amounts remains dissolved in the blood and easily passes through the kidneys, leaving the body as waste. However, uric acid in high amounts makes a person more likely to develop gout.
The amount of uric acid in your blood can change depending on what you eat, your overall health, how much alcohol you drink and what medicines you are taking, as well as in response to a sudden illness.

What Causes Gout?
Gout was once incorrectly thought to be a disease of the rich and famous, caused by consuming too much rich food and fine wine. Although diet and excessive drinking contribute to gout, they are not the main cause of the condition.
Gout results from abnormal deposits of uric acid crystals in the joint cartilage. The crystals are later released into the joint fluid.
Not everyone with high levels of uric acid will develop gout. The kidneys' ability to rid the body of uric acid is partly determined by heredity. Yet, just because someone in the family suffers from gout does not mean everyone in that family will have the disease. This risk varies from person to person.


#2) Arthritis:
Pseudogout
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/78/95621.htm

Pseudogout is a form of arthritis that causes pain, stiffness, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in some joints. It usually affects one joint at a time, but sometimes may affect several joints at once.
Pseudogout commonly affects the knee or wrist. Less often, it can involve the hips, shoulders, elbows, knuckles, toes or ankles.

What Are the Symptoms of Pseudogout?
The symptoms of pseudogout are similar to symptoms of several other diseases, especially gout (which is why this form of arthritis is called pseudogout). Some symptoms of pseudogout are similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Symptoms of pseudogout include:
Sudden, intense joint pain.
Swollen joint that's warm to the touch.
Red or purple skin around the joint.
Severe tenderness around the joint (even the slightest touch or pressure may bring extreme pain).
Less often, pseudogout may cause persistent swelling, warmth and pain in several joints, and can even mimic rheumatoid arthritis.
Most symptoms of pseudogout go away within five to 12 days, even without treatment.

What Causes Pseudogout?
Pseudogout results from the abnormal formation of calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals in the cartilage (cushioning material between the bones), which is later followed by the release of crystals into the joint fluid. When CPP crystals are released into the joint, they can cause a sudden attack of arthritis, similar to gout.
The cause of abnormal deposits of CPP crystals in cartilage is unknown. They may form due to abnormal cells in the cartilage, or they may be produced as the result of another disease that damages cartilage. CPP crystals may be released from cartilage during a sudden illness, joint injury or surgery. The abnormal formation of CPP crystals also may be a hereditary trait.


OVERALL...
What is gout?

Gout is a form of arthritis marked by sudden attacks of painful, inflamed joints. It is characterized by pain, swelling, redness, and warmth (inflammation) as well as stiffness in a joint or joints. Without treatment, gout attacks tend to recur and may cause severe damage to joints, tendons, and other tissues. Gout is most common in men.1

What causes gout?
Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia). Hyperuricemia usually does no harm, and most people with high levels of uric acid in the blood never develop gout. When uric acid levels in the blood are too high, uric acid may form crystals that accumulate in the joints. The exact cause of hyperuricemia sometimes goes undiscovered, although inherited factors (genes) seem to play a role. Gout can seem to flare up without specific cause or can be brought on by factors such as being overweight, eating meats and seafood that are high in chemicals called purines, taking certain medications (especially aspirin and diuretics), and drinking too much alcohol.