Preventing Chronic Tophaceous Gout

Gout, a painful and potentially debilitating arthritis, develops when there is a chronic high level of urate in the blood. Gout has 3 main stages: first, acute gouty arthritis; second, intercritical gout; and third, chronic tophaceous gout.

When the condition of gout is unrelenting after quite some time, it can develop into chronic tophaceous gout. This is characterized by persistent, low-degree pain and inflammation, which can be acute or mild. At this stage of chronic tophaceous gout, the disease is likely to have progressed to other joints. There have been rare conditions when chronic tophaceous gout has affected the hips, shoulders and spine.

At this stage of gout, the patient often develops a mass of crystallized monosodium urate deposits that builds up in the joints, cartilages and bones known as tophi. Tophi can even penetrate the skin, appearing as whitish or yellowish crumbly lumps. Tophi can form in the hands, feet, elbow, knee, forearm, and the outer ridge of the ear.

In general, tophi are painless but they sometimes cause the affected joint/joints to ache and become stiff. Later, they can also cause bone and cartilage corrosion, thereby, damaging the joint permanently. Moreover, tophi can grow to a large size enough to deform the affected body parts severely.

If gout is not treated during its early stages, then chronic tophaceous gout and tophi can set in about a decade after the first onset of the disease. Fortunately, the first stage of gout can take anywhere from three years to a couple or more decades so there is plenty of time for patients to treat their gout conditions and prevent the development of chronic tophaceous gout. However, older women who suffer from gout are more likely to develop tophi during the early stages of gout. This is also true for people who are taking the medication Cyclosporine.

Chronic tophaceous gout, quite obviously, is the worst stage of gout because it is during this final stage that affected joints (sometimes even the kidneys) may suffer irreversible damage. However, as noted above, chronic tophaceous gout is highly preventable. As long as a gout patient seeks the proper treatment, his or her condition will not develop into this critical stage.

To manage hyperuricemia (high uric acid blood level), the patient must make changes to his diet as well as his lifestyle that will help in lowering his urate level. Doctors also prescribe medications for this purpose. To control pain during gout attacks, anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers are often necessary. The combination of gout medication, lifestyle and dietary modifications will prevent the onset of chronic tophaceous gout.