http://curegoutpainnow.com - Gout is a painful condition, often affecting the toes, but it can affect many other joints as well. If left alone it can get worse, turn into a chronic problem and even cause permanent damage. Gout symptoms are not always present and are only the tip of the iceberg.

1. Gout symptoms are not always present... even if the gout is still there!

2. Gout can cause joint and tissue damage, even if there are no symptoms.

3. Gout is caused by a build-up of uric acid crystals in the joints, due to the body not being able to get rid of excess uric acid in the body.

4. This build-up often occurs in the big toe joint, but other joints can also be affected, including the ankles, wrists, elbows and fingers.

5. People experiencing gout symptoms for the first time may think that the condition has come on suddenly, as often the symptoms appear overnight.

6. Very quickly what was a normal joint can become red, very inflamed and incredibly painful.

7. So painful to the touch that the sufferer cannot bear the weight of a bedsheet.

8. However this pain, particularly in the early onset of gout, usually subsides within a few days or so.

9. Often a gout sufferer, once the pain has passed, does not realise that the underlying problem that caused the pain has not gone away.

10. The inflammation and pain may have subsided, but the high uric acid levels (hyperuricaemia) in the body might not have subsided

11. Without changing in the underlying causes of gout, another attack is almost certain.

12. And as time passes the attacks will become more frequent and more severe.

13. It is vital that the gout sufferer realises that there are underlying issues that need to be addressed.

14. Often hyperuricaemia can be cleared up through simple changes in diet, and through weight loss

15. Be very aware that a gout attack is only the tip of the iceberg.And that the underlying issues will have to be addressed too.