The most prevalent first-time signs and symptoms of gout are swelling and extreme pain in the big toe joint of just one foot. Understand that the great toe is not the only joint which can be tormented by gout pain. Pain can appear in numerous joints, including elbows, wrists, fingers, ankles, knees and feet.

Gout pain comes on unexpectedly, typically over night, after which it settles down over two or three days.

The pain from gout is excruciating and sometimes a bed sheet could be too much to stand. Even the smallest motion of the joint will probably be extremely painful.

There’ll be reduced movement in the afflicted joint. Together with the pain, the skin over the joint will stretch because of the swelling, and can become really scratchy.

Having said that, gout does not always present in the form of a very painful attack. In less severe gout attacks, the affected joint may feel hot and sensitive. It might be slightly red-colored. Or you might have continuing pain in the joints which is otherwise inexplicable.

Uric acid deposits ( tophi) could present themselves in the ears as nodules, whether or not the typical signs and symptoms of gout are not present. Tophi can also show up in your fingers and hands.

More often than not gout pain attacks go away by themselves inside of two or three days. However, while the external gout symptoms may have gone away, the cause is still there, and gout often returns to the same joint, or maybe in another joint.

If gout is not handled propely, gout attacks may happen more regularly and stay longer. The problem compounds over time, even if gout pain is not actually present.

The cause of gout is a build-up of monosodium urate crystals in the joints. Monosodium urate is a normal by-product of consuming certain kinds of foods loaded in purines.

With time, if the body is producing more urate than it can take care of, uric acid crystals will start accumulating in the soft tissues around your joints.

Unless something is done to change the urate concentrations, the crystals will continue developing and keep accumulating, until you reach the trigger point and gout pain becomes obvious.

Although you can alleviate gout symptoms in the short term, the root problem still exists. Eventually those with excessive uric acid accumulation can develop chronic gout, and damage to the joints may become permanent, leading to permanently stiff, painful joints.