http://curegoutpainnow.com - Joint pain, is it gout? 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

1. Joint Pain? You might be suffering from gout.

2. Some people suffer for many years with unexplainable joint pain without considering the possibility that it might be gout

3. Sometimes the symptoms are such that this is not immediately obvious. If you suffer from joint pain you must watch this

4. Gout more often than not first presents in the big toe joint

5. The sufferer will often wake up in the middle of the night with a red, swollen, throbbing and incredibly painful joint.

6. Your first ever gout attack may indeed be a typical attack, and you may have subsequent attacks that present in exactly the same way.

7. However it is possible to start experiencing symptoms that are not so obviously gout

8. Gout can affect any joint.

9. Gout usually starts in the big toe, but it can move to your ankles, knees, elbows, hands and other joints.

10. An early indicator might be that one or more joints start to become tighter and less flexible.

11. At times they may swell up and sometimes even get hot and red.

12. The pain might subside after a week or so, and then be fine for weeks or months at a time.

13. Another strange pain you might get is very sensitive fingers, just between the top knuckle and the fingernail.

14. These can get quite red and very sensitive to the touch. You might be able to see little white spots inside the red areas.

15. Stiff and sore elbows are another possible pain, sometimes accompanied by bursitis.

16. Bursitis is a condition where the fluid sacs (bursa) surrounding a joint can swell up.

17. This can also be triggered by a bump on the elbow so might actually get passed off as an accidental knock, when the cause might be gout.

18. Some people experience a range of these issues, and as they can seem unrelated, they might never think to link them all together.

19. If you have had gout in the past and are experiencing joint pain in multiple joints then it might be time to consider raising the possibility of gout with your doctor.

20. Joint pain from gout can cause permanent damage

21. Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in your system, which can mean needle-shaped crystals form and deposit around your joints.

22. While these uric acid crystals are in your joints they are causing irritation and damaging the tissue.

23. If you do not change the factors leading to a high uric acid level then the urate crystals will continue to damage your joints

24. If you have ever had a gout attack in the past and continue to get joint pain, it might be time to make some changes in your lifestyle.