Relieve The Painful Symptoms Of Gout And Live Your Life Pain Free With MendMeShop Ultrasound
 



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Diagnosing Gouty Arthritis

Gout can mimic the symptoms of the following conditions:

  • Pseudogout - one of the most misunderstood forms of arthritis, a disease that mimics gout but affects larger joints.
  • Psoriatic arthritis - causes swelling and pain in joints. It also causes a scaly rash on the skin.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints.
  • Infection

A proper diagnosis is therefore essential. Tests from your doctor will include:


Physical examination and review of medical history.
Blood test can help diagnosis if you have gout or not.

Diagnosis usually begins with a review of family medical history and a physical examination. The presence of tophi below the skin and red shiny skin above the affected area can indicate gout. However a more thorough medical examination is required to eliminate the possibility of the other conditions listed above.

Blood test.

A blood test can be used to measure levels of uric acid in the blood. This is not a reliable method for diagnosing gout. During a gout attack blood uric acid levels can lie within the normal range. Also, high uric acid levels don't always indicate the presence of gout.

X-Ray of severe gout in the hand.
X-rays.

X-rays can be taken to show tophi crystals around the joints and under the skin. However, X-rays of affected joints often show the joints to be normal so may not help in the diagnosis.

Arthrocentesis.

A more reliable method of diagnosis uses arthrocentesis. Using a syringe and needle a synovial fluid sample is taken from an affected joint. The synovial fluid is analysed under a microscope. The presence of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the fluid indicates the presence of gout.



Do you have more questions?

We encourage you to contact our office directly with any questions you may have regarding gout and gouty arthritis. We will do our best to answer your questions in a thorough and courteous manner.

Feel free to email us at contact@aidmygout.com.

Alternatively, for those located within the US or Canada, you may contact us on our toll free number 1-877-876-4588. If you live outside of these countries, call our local number at 705 445 3505

Our Office Hours

Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 9:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Saturday 12:00pm to 5:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Sunday 12:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern Standard Time)

We wish great you a great day and we look forward to hearing from you.