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Gout
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Gout is an inflammatory arthritis. A joint can go through flares marked by pain and swelling.
The process begins when urate accumulates and forms crystals. Picture tiny needles deposited in or around a joint. Those crystals trigger inflammation in the surrounding tissue. This card explains the general mechanism of gout, but it does not interpret any one person's urate level.
In brief
Gout is an inflammatory arthritis that causes flares of pain and swelling in one or more joints.
Gout develops when accumulated urate forms needle-shaped crystals in or around a joint, triggering inflammation.
Picture microscopic, needle-shaped urate crystals collecting in or around a joint. Their presence can trigger the inflammation, pain, swelling, tenderness, warmth, and redness behind a sudden gout flare.
Sources (1)
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIHGoutPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated