Do You Know the Different Types of Gout?

Gout is a serious type of metabolic arthritis that is caused by the high level of uric acid accumulation in blood. In normal condition the uric acid in the blood is processed in the kidneys and the body gets rid of them through the body system. But when there is too much accumulation of the uric acid the kidneys cannot processes them to help the body get rid of those waste substances and as a result the uric acid crystals start to build up in the joints and tendons which lead to the attack of gout. The crystals trigger the extreme pain, swelling and redness in the joints. In most of the cases, the gout is manifested in the big toes but the other joints like the heels, knees, fingers etc soon become victims of the gout attack.

Gouts are generally of two types. They are primary hyperuricaemia and secondary hyperuricaemia. Hyperuricaemia is the level of uric acid in the blood. Their causes make these two types of gouts different. Primary hyperuricaemia is caused by the hereditable kidney abnormalities. Secondary hyperuricaemia refers to the problem of the uric acid accumulation due to some certain medications and treatment of certain diseases. There are some high purines foods as well that trigger to the increase of the uric acid level of the body. Between these two types of gout secondary hyperuricaemia gout is more common.

Gout is a critical condition that does not occur quite often. Sometimes the patients can have almost a decade of chronic hyperuricaemia before they have got their first gout attack. So, if there is high uric acid level present in the blood of a person that does not mean that the person will necessarily suffer the gout attack instantly.

Apart from these two types of gout there is another type of arthritis which is similar to the symptoms of the gout. The disease is known as pseudogout and the tretamnet of the disease is also quite similar to the treatment of the gout. But the causes of the two diseases are different. While gout is caused by the accumulation of the uric acid crystals the pseuogout is caused by the accumulation of calcium pyrophosphate and not uric acid.

More than two million people in the United States suffer from gout. It is developed more frequently in men than the women. Records suggest that men at their 30s and women especially after their menopause start to develop the disease. Food habits and obesity are two risk factors when it comes to the reasons of gout.

Proper and timely treatment of the gout is important. If the disease is diagnosed and treated early the gout may not be worsened. The case can be different if the patient overlooks the disease.