Health Decision Guides

We're sorry to hear you have gout (or may have gout).

The goal of this guide is to provide information while awaiting evaluation with your doctor or additional information after you have seen him or her. Please keep in mind that this guide is not intended to replace a face-to-face evaluation with your doctor.

First, some background information about this guide and about the condition itself:

Gout is a condition in which one or more joints become inflamed when crystals of urate (also called uric acid) deposit there. Urate is a byproduct of normal bodily functions and is removed from the body by the kidneys.

This guide will ask you a series of questions and depending on your answers, information will be provided and additional questions asked until the conclusion.

Would you first like more general information about gout? Or, would you prefer information more specific to your own situation?

General information about gout

I'd like to learn more about my own specific situation.

Okay. The information below is organized into the following sections:

1) How is gout diagnosed?

2) How severe is your gout?

3) What are the treatment options?

4) What happens over time?

Let's get started!

Diagnosis of gout

I'd like to learn more about my own specific situation.

Welcome to the symptom guide regarding imbalance or unsteady gait. We're sorry to hear you're having this problem.

This symptom guide is designed for persons who have noticed balance problems or unsteadiness while walking.

Please keep in mind that this guide cannot replace a face-to-face evaluation with a health professional. It is meant to provide helpful information while you are awaiting further evaluation, or to supplement what you may have already learned after medical evaluation.

In this guide, you'll be asked a series of questions that will guide you through some of the most common reasons for balance problems; however, it won't cover every cause.

So, if none of the conditions covered in this guide seem to apply to you, keep in mind that sometimes no cause is found. Or, you may have a rare cause of imbalance that's not covered here.

Let's get started.

The first questions are aimed at the possibility of a serious or dangerous cause of imbalance or unsteady gait.

Did your balance problems begin after a head injury?

Or did they develop along with any of the following?

- A severe headache

- Weakness on one side of the body

- Slurred speech

- Inability to walk

- Tremor

- Trouble swallowing

Yes, one or more of those is true.

No, none of those is true for me.