Gout is a painful form of arthritis that can attack the big toe.

Diagnoses of gout are rising in the country, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that 3.6 million Americans will have the disease by 2025. Luckily, the illness can usually be well controlled with the right kind of medication and diet.

What it is and what it does

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects one or more joints, leaving them red and swollen. The condition most often causes pain in the big toe. The pain may be abrupt and intense. Flare-ups often happen at night and then subside after a few days before returning again in the future. These symptoms occur when there's a buildup of uric acid in the body. This bodily waste is usually flushed out via the kidneys, but if there's too much uric acid for the body to get rid of, then uric acid crystals may form in the joints and gout can develop.

According to the CDC, there are four stages of the illness. In the first, a large amount of uric acid builds up in the body. That might not cause pain, but can cause damage.

In the second stage, flare-ups occur with pain that may be mild or excruciating. Tenderness, soreness and warm-feeling joints also occur where urate crystals begin to cause inflammation. In the third stage, the flare-ups temporarily subside, but as urate crystals increase even more in the body's tissue the painful attacks will return and become more frequent as the illness progresses.

The fourth stage is when the illness has advanced so much that it becomes chronic. Patients with chronic gout may develop tophi - where the crystals build up enough to create lumps around the joints and extremities. Kidney stones may also occur. However, it can take up to 10 years without receiving any treatment for someone to reach the chronic stage, according to the website Medical News Today.

Causes and history

Gout is a very old disease - discovered by the ancient Egyptians in 2640 BC and studied by Greek physician Hippocrates in the fifth century BC. Hippocrates found that the diets and lifestyles of certain people might make them susceptible to gout.

While many things can lead to gout, men are more at risk than premenopausal women, and genetics may play a part in gout risk too. Taking diuretic medications or certain anti-inflammatory drugs containing salicylate may increase the chances of getting gout, too.

Obesity, alcohol consumption, and food rich in purines like red meat, organ meats, and some fish can increase the body's uric acid levels, possibly leading to gout.

The condition used to be known as “the disease of kings,” since King Henry VIII and other monarchs known for their consumption of wine and meat often developed the illness.

Diagnosis and treatment

To diagnose gout, doctors usually give patients either a blood test or a joint fluid test to check uric acid levels. A combination of the right diet, exercise, and medications can generally control gout. Many patients take aspirin or ibuprofen for the pain and allopurinol to cut the body's production of uric acid, or probenecid to help the kidneys rid the body of excess uric acid.