LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Gout: Joints
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Gouty arthritis... known as gout, is a condition caused by the deposition and accumulation of needle-like uric acid crystals in the fluid and tissues of one or more joints. This causes inflammation, swelling, and severe pain in the joint. The most frequently affected joint is the big toe, but gout can also occur in the hands, wrists, knees, and feet. Attacks of gout may occur several times a year and last for several days. During these attacks, uric acid deposits may build up in cartilage, tendons, and soft tissues. They may also form lumps called tophi under the skin and may accumulate in the kidneys, leading to kidney stones, and kidney damage.
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Gout is a systemic disease caused by the buildup of uric acid in the joints, causing inflammation, swelling, and pain. This condition can develop for two reasons. The liver may produce more uric acid than the body can excrete in the urine, or a diet of rich foods (e.g., red meat, cream sauces, red wine) puts more uric acid into the bloodstream than the kidneys can filter. In both cases, a condition called hyperuricemia results. Over time, the uric acid crystallizes and settles in the joint spaces, most commonly in the first metatarsal
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Gout is a condition that causes sudden and severe attacks of pain, redness and swelling of joints. Gout is a condition has been well known for many centuries. Most often it affects a single joint in one episode, often the big toe. About 9 out of 10 affected individuals affected by gout are men over the age of 40. The peak age of attacks is 75 years, but it can occur in young individuals on rare occasions. Over one millions Americans have a gout attack each year.
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Gout usually starts with a sudden onset of intense pain in one or more joints, usually the big toe joint of the foot. The pain is accompanied by redness, swelling and warmth over the joint. Typically, the patient does not recall injuring the joint before the pain started. Many patients say they first noticed pain in the middle of the night or upon arising in the morning.
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Gout is a condition in which uric acid, a waste product that occurs naturally occurring within the body, rises above normal levels. Rather than being flushed by the kidneys and through the urine, as it normally is, it forms crystals and deposits in the joints. These deposits give rise to inflammation of the joints, causing pain, swelling, redness and tenderness of the area. Most typically the joint affected is that of the big toe, but gout can ... affect the ankle, knee, foot, hand, wrist and elbow. Uric acid crystals may also form deposits in other areas such as under the skin or in other soft tissues, and in the kidney or urinary tract.
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Gout usually develops after a number of years of buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints and surrounding tissues. Symptoms of gout include: warmth, pain, swelling, and extreme tenderness in a joint, usually a big toe joint. Pain that starts during the night and is so intense that even light pressure from a sheet is intolerable. Rapid increase in discomfort, lasting for some hours of the night and then easing during the next 2 to 7 days.
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