Gout, which I believe is not new to anyone, is a relatively common disease and one that is extremely damaging to the human body. Gout can usually be divided into four stages: asymptomatic, acute, intermittent and chronic arthritis. Understanding the symptoms of the different stages of gout helps doctors determine the progression of the disease and determine the most appropriate treatment plan. These stages of gout are: 1. The asymptomatic stage, also known as the hyperuricemic stage, in which the patient does not show symptoms of gout except for elevated blood uric acid. This stage is generally long, usually taking several years, and may take decades. 2, acute attack stage This is the initial manifestation of gout, and, generally in the lower limb joints, the big toe and other locations are more common, the first part is often the big toe, the joint is red, swollen, burning and swollen, can not cover the quilt, the foot stretched out, if the slightest wind blowing or slightly touched, move a toe, immediately pain like a heart, but in a few days or weeks will disappear automatically. 3, intermittent period This stage of gout attacks will continue, and then wait for a period of time will naturally ease, from the initial onset of a toe joint, gouty arthritis repeated acute attacks, after several acute attacks, gradually spread to the fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, knees and other joints throughout the body, and then the surrounding soft tissues and bones are also damaged to varying degrees and dysfunction, uric acid crystals continue to deposit, slowly formed At this time, the kidney function is normal or shows a mild decline. 4. Chronic arthritis stage During this period, arthritis attacks become more and more frequent, the intervals are shorter and shorter, and the pain becomes more and more severe, even after the attacks cannot be completely relieved. At this time, joint deformities, restricted movement and gout stones begin to appear, and patients with long-term uncontrolled arthritis can experience damage to kidney function and even kidney failure. Although the symptoms of gout are more serious, but as long as it can be controlled, for normal life, the impact is not too big.