3 Symptoms of Having Gout in the Knees
Gout is a condition seen as a not very serious one by many people, but the truth is that leaving it untreated for too long can cause you serious issues later on - for example, the increased levels of uric acid that commonly accompany gout (and are one of the main gout symptoms) can lead to the development of kidney stones, among other issues.
Recognizing gout's presence is important, and it's equally important to know how to spot its symptoms of onset if you have a recurring gout condition, so that you can apply preventive measures adequately and promptly.
It's not difficult to prevent gout from manifesting itself strongly, but you have to know how to spot it.
There are three major gout symptoms you should be on the lookout for: 1) Swelling and redness in the joints - this is probably the most reliable way to spot gout, and it's also one of the most commonly seen gout symptoms.
Typically, when you've got gout in the knees, you can expect your knee joints to swell up quite badly and the skin will likely feel easily irritable.
While this is the most reliable symptom for an onset of gout in your knees, it's also the one that manifests itself after the disease has been activated - meaning that by the time you've spotted this symptom, it'll be too late to prevent gout from manifesting and the best you can do is to alleviate its symptoms as much as you can.
2) Fatigue - when you're being seriously affected by gout, you'll feel more tired than usual in general, and you'll find yourself with less energy for your everyday tasks than you normally have.
This is one of the symptoms that can warn you of an impending gout attack early enough if you can spot it reliably, though it can be difficult to do so for the simple fact that fatigue by itself is associated with numerous things and not gout specifically.
Still, if you know you're prone to recurring gout symptoms, make sure you stay alert for any displays of fatigue.
3) Increased uric acid levels - probably the most reliable way to tell if you're about to be hit by a gout attack.
If your levels of uric acid suddenly go up too harshly, this most likely indicates that your gout condition has reactivated and is about to hit you.
This is the best time to medicate yourself and take other approaches to alleviate gout's symptoms.
If you spot the abnormal levels of uric acid early enough, you should be able to address the condition efficiently and not be affected so harshly by it.
This, however, means that you'll have to regularly check yourself up at your doctor, having them perform tests on you for the particular purpose of watching your gout levels.
This must be done regularly as well - and while it may feel annoying, it's still way better than having to deal with gout itself or the flare ups that can keep you awake late at night.
Recognizing gout's presence is important, and it's equally important to know how to spot its symptoms of onset if you have a recurring gout condition, so that you can apply preventive measures adequately and promptly.
It's not difficult to prevent gout from manifesting itself strongly, but you have to know how to spot it.
There are three major gout symptoms you should be on the lookout for: 1) Swelling and redness in the joints - this is probably the most reliable way to spot gout, and it's also one of the most commonly seen gout symptoms.
Typically, when you've got gout in the knees, you can expect your knee joints to swell up quite badly and the skin will likely feel easily irritable.
While this is the most reliable symptom for an onset of gout in your knees, it's also the one that manifests itself after the disease has been activated - meaning that by the time you've spotted this symptom, it'll be too late to prevent gout from manifesting and the best you can do is to alleviate its symptoms as much as you can.
2) Fatigue - when you're being seriously affected by gout, you'll feel more tired than usual in general, and you'll find yourself with less energy for your everyday tasks than you normally have.
This is one of the symptoms that can warn you of an impending gout attack early enough if you can spot it reliably, though it can be difficult to do so for the simple fact that fatigue by itself is associated with numerous things and not gout specifically.
Still, if you know you're prone to recurring gout symptoms, make sure you stay alert for any displays of fatigue.
3) Increased uric acid levels - probably the most reliable way to tell if you're about to be hit by a gout attack.
If your levels of uric acid suddenly go up too harshly, this most likely indicates that your gout condition has reactivated and is about to hit you.
This is the best time to medicate yourself and take other approaches to alleviate gout's symptoms.
If you spot the abnormal levels of uric acid early enough, you should be able to address the condition efficiently and not be affected so harshly by it.
This, however, means that you'll have to regularly check yourself up at your doctor, having them perform tests on you for the particular purpose of watching your gout levels.
This must be done regularly as well - and while it may feel annoying, it's still way better than having to deal with gout itself or the flare ups that can keep you awake late at night.