Gout is a condition characterised by the presence of urate crystals in joints where they cause inflammation and intense pain. The crystals form because there is too much urate in the blood.
Urate occurs in the blood of healthy people and is normally disposed via the kidneys and into urine. With gout, this process doesn't happen fast enough and the crystals can then build up. However some people can have high levels of urate without ever experiencing gout.
Men are more commonly affected than women as the normal urate level tends to be higher in males. Men can be affected at any age, women are only affected after the menopause.
The big toe is the most commonly affected joint but the foot, ankle, knee, wrist, finger and elbow joints can also develop gout. Without treatment gout usually clears up within 7-10 days but subsequent attacks can be quite frequent unless treated.
Gout runs in families.Certain medical conditions can also lead to an attack as can beer consumption, obesity and a diet rich in purines.
Too much urate in the blood can also lead to crystals appearing under the skin, these look like little white pimples and are called tophi.
Doctors prescribe painkillers to deal with an acute attack of gout, drugs can also be prescribed to reduce the likelihood of further attacks. It is possible that moderate lifestyle interventions may reduce the incidence of recurrent gout.
The prevalence of gout is put at least at 1%. In some countries this is much higher, in New Zealand Europeans the figure is 3.6% whereas 6.4% of Maoris are affected.
