Gout Symptoms by Stage, From First Joint Pain to Kidney Risk
Gout symptoms progress in stages, from pain in one joint to spreading pain, longer attacks and a higher risk of kidney disease. Know the early signs.
Gout is usually associated with pain in certain joints of the body. It typically leaves behind redness, swelling, and unbearable pain in the affected joint. The disease is often linked to advancing age, but gout does not only strike older people. Gout can also affect people in their most productive years. You can spot the symptoms earlier if you pay closer attention to the signs it produces in your body. Below are the common symptoms of gout, starting with the mildest stage.
Contents
Pain in a Single Joint
Uric acid is a normal substance that the body excretes. As long as uric acid stays within a normal range, you will not notice any symptoms. But when uric acid production climbs and the body can no longer process it, the uric acid hardens (crystallizes) in the joints and causes pain. In the early stage, the pain is usually felt at night. The painful joint may also look red on the surface.
Pain Starts to Spread
After the first stage, pain typically starts to appear in other joints around the body. According to research, gout usually begins in the big toe, then spreads to the ankles, knees, heels, fingers, elbows, and other joints. The pain lasts for varying lengths of time, from 10 to 30 minutes before it fully fades.
Longer, Continuous Pain
At the third stage, gout symptoms point to a serious disease. The pain in the joints takes longer and longer to go away. If the pain fades within minutes in the second stage, at this stage it lasts for 12 or even 24 hours. It is worse still when the pain is continuous: it disappears for a moment, then flares up again. Sufferers will almost certainly have their activities disrupted all day long. Without prompt treatment, these gout symptoms can lead to permanent joint damage.
Rising Risk of Kidney Disease
In the final stage, clumps of uric acid crystals in the body can raise the risk of kidney disease. Crystals that the body fails to process can stick to the urinary tract and eventually reach the kidneys. In cases like this, men tend to be affected more often than women.
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