Symptoms of gout

You may only ever have gout once in your life and it may go away without any treatment.

The first symptoms of gout in your affected joint include:

• severe pain
• swelling and warmth around the area
• red and shiny skin around the area, which may peel later on

You may also have a mild fever.

If you have gout that reoccurs over many years, you may have further symptoms. This can include firm, white lumps developing beneath your skin – these are made of uric acid crystals and are called tophi. Tophi usually take up to 10 years to develop from your first episode of gout. Having tophi can lead to a range of problems, including:

• the tophi becoming inflamed, which can cause discomfort
• tophi breaking down and leaking out a white, paste-like substance

You may want to discuss with your GP treatments to ease discomfort from having tophi. However, taking antibiotics for inflamed or leaking tophi won’t help because tophi aren’t caused by bacteria.

These symptoms may be caused by problems other than gout. If you have any of these symptoms, see your GP for advice.