Myths and facts of gout quiz

When you have kidney disease, your kidneys cannot filter out uric acid as well as they should. Too much uric acid building up in the body may cause gout. Most people with early stage kidney disease do not know they have it. Gout can be a warning sign of kidney disease.

The big toe is the most common place for gout attacks to happen, and many people have their first gout attack in their big toe. But gout can happen in all joints in the body including the hands, elbows, knees, and ankles. When people have chronic gout, often several of their joints are affected.

Chronic gout does not necessarily mean having gout attacks all the time. Chronic gout is considered having two or more gout attacks per year. Having chronic gout can lead to permanent joint stiffness, damage, and deformity, and attacks can increase in frequency over time. There are medicines used for chronic gout that can prevent gout attacks.

Although drinking alcohol or eating a diet high in purines can contribute to gout, most people do not get gout for these reasons alone. Instead, when someone has gout, their body does not use uric acid in the right way. Kidney disease is a common cause of gout that is not related to drinking too much alcohol or eating unhealthy foods.

Living with pain and gout symptoms can be almost constant for some people with chronic gout. Attacks happen in more joints with only short breaks in between attacks. Some people feel symptoms of gout most of the time.

Gout causes damage in the body even in between attacks. A gout attack is pain from urate crystals building up under the skin, but gout can cause high levels of uric acid in the body all the time. This can lead to more gout attacks, joint damage, and joint deformity when left untreated.

There are medicines that can prevent the buildup of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to fewer gout attacks in people who have chronic gout. There are also lifestyle changes people can make that can prevent future attacks.