Arthritis is a condition that comes in several different forms – none of which are particularly pleasant. One of the especially painful types of arthritis, though, is gout, and it’s a condition that affects about 4% of people in the United States.
If you are experiencing symptoms that might lead you to worry that you are among this 4% of people, we at Bikham Healthcare are here to help with everything you need to know about gout, including what gout is and what causes it, common signs and symptoms of gout, and how gout is diagnosed and treated.
What is Gout?
Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that typically affects a single joint at a time, with the joint in the big toe being the most common joint affected. While gout is a chronic condition, it tends to vary over time in severity. Gout symptoms often become more painful during periods of time known as “flares” that can last days or weeks and sometimes disappear entirely for long periods of remission that can last weeks, months, or years.
As for what causes gout, gout is a condition brought on by hyperuricemia – defined as an elevated level of uric acid in the blood. When there is too much uric acid in a person’s blood, it will sometimes crystalize in the joints and cause gout.
Common risk factors for hyperuricemia and gout include:
- Being obese
- Being male
- Excess alcohol intake
- Having certain conditions such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, and diabetes
- Using certain medications such as diuretics
- A diet too high in fructose or purine
Common Symptoms of Gout
Gout comes and goes in periods of flares and remission and typically only affects one joint at a time. The joint in the big toe is the joint most commonly affected by gout, but other joints where the condition can appear include the lesser toe joints, the ankle, and the knee.
Symptoms in the joint(s) that are affected by gout can include:
- Moderate to intense pain
- Swelling
- Redness
- Heat
If you experience any of these symptoms periodically affecting one or more joints in your body then you will want to schedule an appointment with a physician to get your condition diagnosed and begin treatment.
How is Gout Diagnosed and Treated?
During a flare when the affected joint is red and swollen, gout can be easily diagnosed via a physical examination. During periods of remission, a gout diagnosis requires a lab test to determine if there is a buildup of uric acid crystals in the joint.
Once diagnosed, there are a number of ways that gout can be treated. While there is no cure for gout, there are effective ways to manage the symptoms that it causes. This starts by managing the pain and swelling of a flare via anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, colchicine, and steroids. Your physician may also recommend lifestyle changes such as consuming less alcohol, losing weight, and eating less purine-rich foods in order to prevent future flares. Lastly, many physicians will recommend that patients with gout take preventive measures to avoid tophi (hard deposits of uric acid under the skin) and kidney stones since both of these conditions can be caused by excess levels of uric acid. Medications such as allopurinol, febuxostat, and pegloticase are often prescribed to patients suffering from chronic gout in order to lower their risk of tophi and kidney stones.
Conclusion
While the fact that there is no simple cure for gout is an unfortunate reality for the millions of Americans affected by this condition, the good news is that gout symptoms can be effectively managed with a combination of medication and lifestyle changes. If you are experiencing flares of gout that have become disruptive to your life, then it’s important to meet with a physician so that your condition can be diagnosed and treated. Alternatively, if you happen to be a physician caring for patients such as those suffering from gout, we at Bikham Healthcare would like to help ease your administrative burden so that you are able to spend less time filling out paperwork and more time treating your patients. By handling revenue cycle management, provider credentialing, provider enrollment, and more, we at Bikham Healthcare have helped countless physicians all over the country tackle the administrative burdens that are holding back their practices. To learn more about these industry-leading services from Bikham Healthcare, feel free to contact us today!
