Long-Term Effects of Gout
Gout can have a long-term impact—including effects that continue between attacks. Joint damage can worsen between attacks if uric acid levels in your blood are high. Additional long-term complications include uric acid kidney stones, problems with kidney function, and potential nerve damage in affected areas.
Controlling hyperuricemia—keeping uric acid levels low—is important. Acting to lower your uric acid levels may, in turn, help control your gout.
You may have heard of “tophi”—large deposits of uric acid crystals. The most common places where tophi form are in the joints of the hands and feet. Other places they may form are the ear, the elbow, and the Achilles tendon. Tophi can cause deformities, damage surrounding tissue, and lead to joint destruction, chronic and persistent pain, and “nerve compression disorders” such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
At this stage (chronic tophaceous gout), which usually develops over a period of 10 years or more, the disease has caused permanent damage to the affected joints and sometimes to the kidneys. About half of the patients will develop tophi by this time, and 20 years after the first attack nearly 3 out of 4 patients will develop tophi. However, joint damage can begin long before these more-obvious signs appear.
Proper management of gout includes a long-term treatment plan addressing hyperuricemia. A long-term treatment plan needs to address hyperuricemia from the start.
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