Browsing: Gout

Gout or gouty arthritis is a disease which causes inflammation of the joints. The most commonly affected joints are: the feet, ankles, knees, hands and elbows.
Gout is mainly caused by extremely low or high levels of uric acid in the body. This causes crystals of uric acid to grow and disperse in the joints, which causes gout.
Gout shares similar symptoms with other diseases, such as joint infections. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint and diagnose. In most cases, after a full physical checkup, a uric acid blood test will be taken, in order to check for abnormalities. Moreover, in order to to be certain that it is in fact gout, a fluid sample will be taken from the affected joint, to check for uric acid crystals.