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Symptoms. Gout Enlarge image. The signs and symptoms of gout almost always occur suddenly, and often at night. They include: Intense joint pain. Gout usually affects the big toe, but it can occur in any joint. Other commonly affected joints include the ankles, knees, elbows, wrists and fingers.
Diagnosis. Doctors usually diagnose gout based on your symptoms and the appearance of the affected joint. Tests to help diagnose gout may include: Joint fluid test. Your doctor may use a needle to draw fluid from your affected joint. Urate crystals may be visible when the fluid is examined under a microscope. Blood test.
Avoid alcohol during gout attacks, and limit alcohol, especially beer, between attacks. Sugary foods and beverages. Limit or avoid sugar-sweetened foods such as sweetened cereals, bakery goods and candies. Limit consumption of naturally sweet fruit juices. Vitamin C. Vitamin C may help lower uric acid levels.
Colchicine is used to prevent or treat attacks of gout (also called gouty arthritis). This condition is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. An attack of gout occurs when uric acid causes inflammation (pain, redness, swelling, and heat) in a joint. Colchicine does not cure gout, but it will help prevent gout attacks.
Pseudogout (SOO-doe-gout) is a form of arthritis characterized by sudden, painful swelling in one or more of the joints. Episodes can last for days or weeks. Pseudogout is formally known as calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease or CPPD. But the condition is commonly called pseudogout because of its similarity to gout.
Blood tests can help find symptoms of other conditions that can lower blood pressure. These include low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia; high blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia or diabetes; and a low red blood cell count, also called anemia. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity ...
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of your bronchial tubes. These tubes carry air to and from your lungs. People who have bronchitis often cough up thickened mucus, which can be discolored. Bronchitis may start suddenly and be short term (acute) or start gradually and become long term (chronic). Acute bronchitis, which often develops ...
Mold can grow virtually anywhere if the conditions are right — in basements, behind walls in framing, on soap-coated grout and other damp surfaces, in carpet pads, and in the carpet itself. Exposure to high levels of household mold can trigger mold allergy symptoms. Working or living in a building that's been exposed to excess moisture.
Croup also causes a cough that sounds like barking. The cough and other signs and symptoms of croup are the result of swelling and irritation around the voice box (larynx), windpipe (trachea) and bronchial tubes (bronchi). When a cough forces air through this narrowed passageway, the swollen vocal cords produce a noise like a seal barking.
Diagnosis. Your doctor will start by asking about your medical history and doing a physical exam, including listening to your lungs with a stethoscope to check for abnormal bubbling or crackling sounds that suggest pneumonia. If pneumonia is suspected, your doctor may recommend the following tests: Blood tests.