Question by ramona: what’s the difference between arthritis and gout?
Best answer:
Answer by wag35
arthritis is an inflammation of the joints caused by heredity or age. Gout is caused by a defective thyroid.
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Wag35 was right about the arthritis, although it could be caused by other factors as well; and wrong about gout. Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. This is usually due to diet; eating too much fatty and/or rich foods that the body cannot process so a build up of uric acid occurs and the presentation of symptoms is pain and swelling in the foot area; usually the big toe!
Comment by Chris — December 14, 2010 @ 1:34 pm
So Chris was right – and in addition to what Chris said about gout: the increased uric acid in the circulation causes little needle like monosodium urate crystals to form in the synovial fluid of joints. They look very painful.
Comment by petlover — December 14, 2010 @ 2:25 pm
Arthritis, is a long-term disease of the joints.In this disorder the synovium, which is a thin membrane surrounding a joint. gradually becomes inflamed and swollen, and this leads to inflammation of other parts of the affected joint.
In gout, uric acid accumulates and forms crystals that may lodge in areas of the body where the blood supply is too meager or sluggish to carry them away. The inflammation irritates the nerve endings in the joint, which causes extreme pain. Sometimes the crystals also accumulate in the kidneys themselves, which may cause kidney failure. Gout is one of the most controllable of the metabolic disorders. Left untreated, it can lead to death from kidney disease, or to high blood pressure, a major risk factor in coronary artery disease and stroke. They both are very painful.
Comment by pammccand — December 14, 2010 @ 2:40 pm