Embarrassing Illnesses

Although gout attacks rarely last for long periods of time, they can cause complications. As well as affecting you physically, gout can also affect your mood and your work and home life. The severe pain gout causes can make it difficult for you to get around, which can sometimes lead to feelings of depression or anxiety. Your GP will discuss ways of making your day-to-day life easier during a gout attack, and will help you deal with any feelings of depression that you may be experiencing.

Joint damage

If you have frequent and recurring attacks of gout, it may eventually damage your joints permanently. If you do not treat an attack of gout, future attacks will often become more frequent and prolonged, and the likelihood of causing permanent joint damage will be increased.

Tophi

Sometimes, the crystals of uric acid in your blood can build up and cause small white lumps (tophi) to form underneath your skin. These white lumps are usually harmless and painless, but they can form in awkward places, such as at the ends of your fingers. It usually takes at least 10 years after your first attack of gout for tophi to develop. They commonly develop on the fingers, forearms, ears and toes, but can occur anywhere in the body, even in the spinal canal, or the vocal cords.

In rare cases, tophi can become inflamed, which can sometimes cause damage to the surrounding bone and tissue. If your tophi are large, or painful, you may have difficulty performing everyday tasks, such as preparing food or dressing yourself. If you are experiencing problems such as these, speak to your GP who will be able to advise you about ways in which these types of activities can be made easier. Very large or painful tophi may have to be surgically removed.

Kidney stones

Occasionally, the crystals of urate can collect in your urinary tract, causing kidney stones to develop. 10-25% of people with gout experience kidney stones. Some kidney stones can interfere with the flow of urine, causing you pain when passing urine and making you feel that you need to pass urine more often. Kidney stones can also cause infection to develop in your urinary system.

Most kidney stones are small and will pass out of your system naturally within a day or two. It is important to try and drink plenty of water, as this will help flush the stones out of your system naturally. You may be prescribed medication to make your urine an alkali instead of an acid, which should help to dissolve any kidney stones that may have developed.