Modern medicine views gout as a chronic disease caused by a disorder in purine metabolism. Its primary clinical characteristic is the overproduction of uric acid in the body or a reduction in the kidney’s excretion of uric acid, leading to elevated blood uric acid levels, resulting in hyperuricemia, as well as recurrent acute gouty arthritis, tophi (gout stones), chronic gouty arthritis, and joint deformities.
In summary, the symptoms of gout often appear in one joint and last for several days before gradually subsiding and the joint function recovers. Generally, there are no symptoms between gout attacks. However, if the condition worsens and gout is not actively treated after an attack, it can lead to more frequent episodes that may affect multiple joints, causing permanent damage to the affected joints.
What are the early symptoms of gout? Let’s discuss the knowledge related to the early symptoms of gout in detail.
Early symptoms manifest as hyperuricemia without clinical signs of arthritis, gout stones, or kidney stones. Joint pain: The initial onset of gout often presents as sudden, severe pain in a single joint, commonly seen in the big toe. Subsequent attacks may involve multiple joints, such as the ankles, knees, wrists, and elbows. The pain often occurs during the patient’s sleep at night without any prior warning and may also occur after excessive alcohol consumption.
Other symptoms: In addition to joint swelling and pain, other symptoms in patients with gout include increased heart rate, chills, and general malaise. Uric acid deposited in the skin, known as tophi, appears as white nodules under the skin, mostly occurring on the hands, feet, elbows, and outer ear cartilage.
Symptoms during remission: The first attack of gout typically only lasts a few days, but if untreated, subsequent attacks may last several weeks. Eventually, the symptoms will disappear, and the patient’s joint function returns to normal between attacks. As the disease progresses, the symptom-free period becomes shorter, and the number of attacks within a year increases. Most patients experience multiple attacks throughout their lives, with some never having another attack after the first. The interval between attacks for most patients is six months to a year, while a few may have intervals of up to 5 to 10 years.
Joint swelling: The pain gradually intensifies and is often described as throbbing or tender. This is followed by inflammation, with the affected joints becoming red, swollen, hot, and painful. This is one of the early symptoms of gout. Sometimes, the pain is so severe that patients can hardly bear the weight on the affected joint.