Four medical issues commonly confused with gout

Gout is a common condition that causes inflammatory pain throughout the body, which is a condition that many people in Ohio live with daily. Gout-related pain can occur in multiple joints. Unfortunately, gout is often confused for similar ailments. Because of this possibility of confusion, here’s more information about several medical issues commonly confused with gout.

Stress fracture

Many people experience the extreme pain associated with breaking one of their toes. In some cases, it’s possible to contract gout while a broken toe heals. Although the two conditions are vastly different, they can both cause pain. To find out what you’re dealing with, have a medical professional x-ray the affected area.

Cellulitis

When someone has gout, he or she often experiences a fever, chills, and inflammation. However, the previously mentioned symptoms are also signs of cellulitis or a bacterial skin infection. The best way to determine whether you’re dealing with cellulitis or gout is to have a medical professional take blood and skin samples from you. The medical team can test the samples for cellulitis-related bacteria.

Psuedogout

Another common gout misdiagnosis can occur if you have pseudogout. Both pseudogout and gout are results of crystals settling in someone’s joints. Although this ailment sounds similar to gout, it’s technically a different condition. Gout occurs when uric acid builds up in your body. Instead of uric acid, pseudogout is the result of crystalized calcium pyrophosphate.

Rheumatoid arthritis

One example of medical malpractice related to gout is a misdiagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. This mistake is more prevalent among patients with polyarticular gout, which can cause pain in multiple joints. The key factor in determining whether you have rheumatoid arthritis is to have a medical professional test any present lumps for uric acid crystals. If the crystals are present, you likely have gout.

Gout is closely related to many other conditions. Unfortunately, these similarities between gout and other ailments also result in many misdiagnoses. If you suspect you received a misdiagnosis, it could be beneficial to get in touch with a medical malpractice lawyer.