Gout is a misunderstood malady. Despite intense pain that gout can bring, it is a condition that is rarely makes glossy pages of a magazine. If you are ever personally hit with sudden onset of gout, classically (50% of time) seen as a sudden and excruciating pain in big toe, you will have a newly found interest in following information.

Gout is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in fluids of your body. These uric acid crystals deposit in joints, tendons and kidneys, damaging tissues and causing inflammation and pain. The pain is a result of countless needle-like crystals that form from excess uric acid.

There are two main types of gout, primary and secondary. Most (90%) of gout sufferers fall into ‘primary’ category. This is a pattern with a cause that is generally unknown (idiopathic), although there are some genetic patterns that can lead one to tend toward elevated uric acid. Secondary gout is identified when uric acid is elevated in response to some other disorder (such as kidney disease). Some medicines (such as aspirin and diuretics) can lead to onset of gout attacks because they decrease excretion of uric acid from body.