Woman's World shares what you need to know about gout and ways to ease the pain according to experts including Theodore R. Fields, MD, FACP, rheumatologist at HSS. 

If you often find yourself sidelined by a sudden, throbbing pain in your joints, especially in your big toe, you may be suffering from a gout attack. Flare ups of this common type of arthritis can also cause the affected joint to feel swollen, tender and warm to the touch. 

“Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in the body, which deposits in joints and causes intermittent episodes of inflammatory arthritis,” explained Dr. Fields. 

Uric acid is a waste product that the body creates when it breaks down chemicals called purines. These compounds are found in alcohol, high-sugar foods, red meat, turkey, certain seafood and high fructose corn syrup (as well as in some other foods). Everyone has uric acid in their body, but it’s when levels get too high that gout can be triggered. “If you have elevated uric acid, over time the blood carrying the uric acid ‘drops off’ some of the uric acid into the joints,” explained. Fields. “Gradually, the joints build up more and more uric acid. Ultimately, a person reaches a ‘critical level’ of uric acid in the joint, and then gets an ‘overflow’ of uric acid crystals into the joint fluid. Those crystals set off the inflammatory response we call a gout flare.”

While the joints are the most common place for uric acid to build up in gout patients, they aren’t the only spots. “Uric acid can deposit elsewhere in the body as part of the gout process, such as by having collections of uric acid form into kidney stones,” revealed Dr. Fields. “You can also get collections of uric acid felt below the skin, called tophi.” These are large bumps you can see and feel, though they usually aren’t painful. Common spots to develop tophi include the elbows, hands, feet, and the outer edge of the ear.

Read the full article at womansworld.com