The attack is a symptom. The acid is the problem.
Gout announces itself with a specificity that few conditions match: a single joint, usually the big toe, becomes so inflamed that even a bedsheet touching it is unbearable. That inflammation is caused by monosodium urate crystals depositing in joint tissue when uric acid in the blood exceeds what the body can dissolve. Most people treat the flare and move on. The uric acid level that caused it rarely gets the same attention.
