1. The main manifestation of gout is the acute attack of gouty arthritis The acute attack of gouty arthritis has its own characteristics, mostly manifested as follows: acute onset, often starting in the early morning, mostly lower limb joints, usually involving only one joint at the beginning, about 50% of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, but also ankle, knee and other joints. The onset of the disease is characterized by severe pain in and around the joint, localized redness and swelling, and restriction of movement. The local symptoms worsen rapidly and can reach a peak within a few hours, so that the patient can turn over and over and become unbearable. Blood tests may show elevated blood leukocytes, and some patients have elevated blood uric acid during acute attacks, but some are normal. Some patients have elevated blood uric acid during acute attacks, but some have normal blood uric acid. The patient will be in complete remission as normal within a few days. The attack may be preceded by heavy alcohol consumption, fatigue and other triggers. If the blood uric acid is not controlled, some patients will have more frequent attacks, longer duration of each attack, more joints involved, and finally become chronic gouty arthritis: swollen and painful joints, pain that is difficult to be healed, often acutely aggravated, and a large number of gouty stones in joints and other places. Some patients eventually develop kidney damage, called gouty nephropathy. The diagnosis of acute attack of gouty arthritis can be easily established if fluid can be extracted from the joints and uric acid crystals can be detected from it. Some patients may have repeated attacks after the initial attack. In the course of long-term disease, the attacks may change from once a year to many times a year or even many times a month; and slowly develop from each single joint attack to each multiple joint attack at the same time; gradually the upper limb joints are also involved; the attacks gradually become difficult to be completely relieved. At this time, gout stones may appear in the joints and bones, and the bones of the joints may be destroyed, and the gout stones may break down and be difficult to heal; at the same time, the kidneys may also become diseased, and may show kidney stones or proteinuria, and finally may develop into kidney failure. However, not everyone will inevitably develop, and there can be great variation between individuals, with some having only a few episodes in their lifetime and others developing rapidly. It is not possible to tell exactly who will develop gout stones and kidney damage and who will not. 4. How to prevent it? Controlling uric acid in the same way as blood pressure and blood sugar will help reduce joint and kidney lesions. A low purine diet will help reduce the flare-ups of gouty arthritis and the development of gout. Also drinking plenty of boiled water and taking baking soda tablets to alkalize the urine can help. Some scholars advocate that if you have repeated attacks several times a year and the uric acid concentration in the blood exceeds 530umol/L, you need to control the uric acid to normal levels with uric acid control medications. For chronic gouty arthritis with gout stones, it is necessary to control uric acid to a lower level. There are two main types of uric acid-lowering drugs: those that promote uric acid excretion and those that inhibit uric acid production, which should be chosen according to the specific situation. Since lowering uric acid may cause an acute attack of gout, it can be prevented by using one tablet of colchicine a day at the beginning. 5. How is it treated? Control uric acid, as described above. In acute attacks of arthritis, you can use: 1. colchicine three times a day, one tablet each time; 2. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as meloxicam or celecoxib; 3. hormones need to be used sparingly or not at all. After the joint pain is controlled, the above drugs should not be used for a long time. 6. Is there a cure for gout? Some media claim that there is a cure for gout, but this claim lacks basis. At present, the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia, the root cause of gout, is not very clear, and there is a lack of means to completely solve the problem. Certain propaganda is irresponsible and not credible. The above is only a brief introduction to some gout-related knowledge.