It's difficult to say what will happen after you've had an attack of gout because there's not much research on this.

You may get better without treatment. One study found almost 3 out of 10 people with an attack of gout in their big toe joint feel better after seven days without treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Bellamy N, Downie WW, Buchanan WW.
Observations on spontaneous improvement in patients with podagra: implications for therapeutic trials of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 1987; 24: 33-36.

 

 

 

 

 

¹ But because gout is so painful, most people do have treatment.

However, gout often comes back. In a study of more than 600 people who didn't have treatment to prevent another attack:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Yu TF, Gutman AB.
Efficacy of colchicine prophylaxis in gout.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 1961; 55: 179-192.

 

 

 

 

 

²

There are treatments you can take to lower the amount of urate in your blood. This may reduce your chances of getting another attack. But there's no good evidence that it works.

A few people who don't have treatment to reduce the amount of urate in their blood get repeated attacks of gout. This is sometimes calledchronic gouty arthritis.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
U.S. National Library of Medicine.
MedlinePlus medical encylopedia: acute gouty arthritis.
April 2007. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus (accessed on 15 December 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

³ It's quite rare. The symptoms are the same as for normal gout, but you get them more often. If you get regular attacks of gout, the urate crystals can damage your joints. This makes them feel stiff and painful to move.

If you have high levels of urate, you are also more likely to get kidney stones.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
U.S. National Library of Medicine.
MedlinePlus medical encylopedia: acute gouty arthritis.
April 2007. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus (accessed on 15 December 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

³ Kidney stones are formed from waste products in your urine, including urate. They develop in your kidneys. They can cause pain when your body tries to flush them out in your urine. But not everyone who has high levels of urate, or gout, will get kidney stones.

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