Health Tip: Understanding Gout

(HealthDay News) — Gout occurs when too much uric acid builds up inside the body. Though it’s not understood what triggers gout, people with diabetes, kidney disease and the obese are at a greater risk, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.

Here is the agency’s list of possible gout symptoms:

  • Sudden swelling of one or several joints — often in the knee, ankle or big toe.
  • Pain that strikes at night and can be severe, throb, or feel like the joint is being crushed.
  • Heat and redness in the joint, along with extreme tenderness.
  • A fever that accompanies joint pain.