Are You Itching For Gout?
I wrote about gout and itching recently.
In fact this was in response to a message from a reader wondering if many gout sufferers experienced itching.
Perhaps I was bogged down with creating this interactive site.
I usually check through my sources, or google for information, before responding.
As soon as I looked, I found a few references to gout itching.
In particular, one source (http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/gout/goutintr.html) set me thinking. I’d been planning to review the bandolier information to check for useful snippets. Checking out the following paragraph about acute gout attacks gave me a few ideas:
A single peripheral joint is almost always involved in all initial episodes, and most often this is the metatarsalophalangeal joint between wrist and finger. Typically local irritation and aching proceeds to tissues becoming swollen, red, hot, shiny and extremely painful. The pain is often describes as the worst ever experienced. By 24 hours inflammation is maximal, and it then resolves slowly over a week or so, often with itching and flaking of overlying skin.
I’m a bit confused about the joint - I assume they mean the big toe joint, though I get attacks in the hand and fingers. Apart from this, it set me thinking about other people’s gout symptoms.
In keeping with my desire to find out how gout really affects ordinary people like us, I decided on a survey of gout symptoms.
Please fill in the form below. If your symptom is not listed, please add a comment below or send me a message via the Contact form.
Remember, this is not a completely scientific survey - it’s about how you feel. I’ve added slight and serious choices rather than any attempt at a scale of suffering. As a guide:
Slight means a symptom you have noticed might be connected with gout, but you cope with it reasonably well.
Serious means a symptom you are convinced is caused by gout, and it significantly reduces your quality of life.
The first question is about which gout symptoms you’ve experienced. The second question is about which joints were affected. Please tick as many boxes as you want.
If you think I’ve missed something from the survey, please let me know via the public comment box below, or privately via my contact page (button near top of each page). In fact, I’d love any comments or questions about gout symptoms.
I exclude tophi from this survey. I will do a separate survey on tophaceous gout soon.
Tags: gout symptoms, _ankle, _back, _big toe, _elbow, _finger, _foot, _hand, _itching, _joint pain, _knee, _numbness, _pins and needles, _redness, _shoulder, _swollen joints, _tingling, _wrist
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I am an active 50 yr old male, 6ft 3″ and 103kgs (226lbs)taking medication for high BP and Statins to control cholesterol levels. I rarely drink alcohol and do not smoke. My diet is usually low fat and less than 2000 calories a day.
I am just at the end of a severe Gout attack in my left foot. I went to bed without any pain 7 days ago, but woke up with a quite sore top of my left foot. Within 12 hours I was in absolute agony. Within 24 hours I could not bear anything near my foot and the pain radiated up my shin bone when I tried to flex my ankle joint. My left foot was very red & swollen and I gained little pain relief, even with Co-proxomol and Ibuprofen.
I was eventually prescribed Colchimax after 4 days. Within 24 hours of taking the 1st 3 tablets I could feel a slight improvement. After 48 hours and 6 tablets, the pain was bearable but I still could barely put weight on my foot. 72 hours and 8 tablets, symptoms starting to subside and swelling reduced. The Colchimax caused severe diorrehea but that was infinitely better than the excrutiating pain.
I had my last flare up of Gout 4 months ago which wasn’t quite so severe or long lasting and was treated only with NSAIDS. This was in the big toe joint mainly.
I feel the current episode was triggered by a combination of circumstances. 1. Feeling low. (cold sore virus erupted on on lip just before Gout attack)2. Most probably slightly de-hydrated. 3. Change of diet as on hoiliday meant an unusual amount of red wine consumed two days before Gout attack. 4.Recent loss of weight. (10 lbs in 3 months) 5. Being treated with Hypertension drugs (Ace inhibitors)
Looking back, I now think I may have had approx 5 attacks over the past 3 years, but haveonly recently realised what is going on. My blood test 4 months ago showed borderline Gout uric Acid levels. I have just had a sample taken today and will get the result in 2 days.
I have also noticed a white lump in the lip of my left ear which I previously thought might be a fatty deposit lump. I now think it might be a Tophi indicating a long term problem with Gout management? I will be discussing this with my Doctor in 2 days. I have also had sore thumb joints in the past and now think this could be a Gout related problem.
My main concern now is how to stop getting further Gout attacks as they are totally crippling when active. I am also concerned about long term damage to my joints and the implications of that.
Hope the above is of use to someone and I would welcome any comments.
Regards, Paul.
[...] Sleep Apnea: A Common Cause Of Gout By GoutPal Yesterday, Paul commented about his gout, and suggested possible causes. One cause of gout that he didn’t mention is sleep apnea. [...]
first, I’m glad to have come across your website - it is useful to see some practical explainations and info sharing that doesn’t pretend to carry
authority.
In the above survey I did not check itching as a symptom, because as the article you referenced mentions, I see it as a side-effect - a result of the
damage done by the inflamation to skin cells and thus the same itching one
has after a sunburn as the new skin pushes off the dead.
My diet is very predictable which is why I too have discounted the alcohol factor as a cause of my flare-ups. I eat the same foods and drink the same beer and yet can go 2 years between flare-ups. The first time I found orange juice was the common factor and I quit drinking it every morning. The gout went away. My more recent attacks (2 in the last 4 months) have been since I have begun eating tomato based sauces ( spaghetti, ravioli, soups, baked beans). I have not yet cut them out of my diet, but will by the end of spring.
I have not been under a doctors care for my gout since my second serious bout, and have found that Celebrex is the best and quickest pain reliever with Ibuprofen good, but not as good at shortening the period of inflamation as Celebrex.
Thank you for your comments Bruce.
I’d just like to remind everyone that the true measure of whether you are beating gout is not your lack of gout symptoms.
Most of the symptoms are due to very complex reactions related to the bodies immune system.
The only true measure of gout control is uric acid level in the blood. Even this can fluctuate through the day, and from day to day.
Get tested regularly, and make sure the level is falling to some point below 6mg/dL
I dont know if i have gout. But i am experiencing some of the symptoms since the last 3 weeks. My doc says my uric acid and esr are high(she is suspecting gout). I have slight pains in my ankles especially the left and sometimes my instep. It began with pains in both knees for about a week especially at nights then that stopped. Sometimes I feel a pain in my wrist that doesnt last long.
I would appreciate your comments.
P.S. very good site.
High uric acid and painful joints are classic symptoms of gout, however they are not conclusive proof.
To get conclusive prove you need to have fluid from the affected joint analyzed. This is a simple process called arthrocentesis. It is best performed by a rheumatologist, who can interpret the results and offer you the best advice for treatment. However many general practice doctors and emergency units can perform the test.
To find more about this, search for arthrocentesis using the search box on the right (if there is no search box, click a page or the title at the top of this page)
Over the course of 30 days I have been not myself and very under the weather. Its started with aches all over, muscle stifness etc. Then one morning I woke to find my right foot and ankle severly swollen and excruciatingly painful, not able to put weight upon it. It was like this for upto 4 days and I was just simply asked to take Ibuprofen. A few days before the onset of symptoms my lip flared up seemingly due to a reaction but lasted so shortly and was so un noticeable i didnt take notice.
Anyway back to the point. after the ankle swelling I was wakng up in high amounts of joint pain, mainly the hip and lower bacl. The ankle swelled again and I have slowly recovered. I have changed my diet, which was already good. I have been taking Ibuprofen and the only thing I am still suffereing with is a reddish, brusied and swollend foot refusing to go down whatsoever.
It’s quite unnerving and I have today had my blood tests for uric acid levels to check for gout. I cant think what else my symptoms add upto but im worried as my ankle seems stuck this way! I usually run daily and i have been unable to do so for over a month now, it’s getting me down a lot.
There doesnt seem to be any specific treatment for gout and ibuprofen is doing absolutely nothing! I need some well sourced help and similar experiences
No, Ted, you need a rheumatologist and an arthrocentesis of your ankle.
Gout cannot be confirmed with a blood test, and a blood test might not pick-up other conditions such as pseudo-gout or septic arthritis. Or if you’re really unlucky, you could have all 3.
Please can other suspected gout patients take note. If your doctor does not discuss arthrocentesis (analysis of joint fluid) with you when he or she suspects gout, then you are seeing the wrong doctor.
There are several specific treatments for gout, but a physician who isn’t clear about diagnosis can never be relied upon for treatment advice.