Gout « Conditions « Ada

Content

• Medications
• More Prevention Techniques
• Emmitt Smith Gains Ground On Gout

The joint at the base of the big toe is the most common site of an acute gout attack. Over time, they can harm joints, tendons, and other tissues. Gout is a kind of arthritis caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints. Uric acid is a breakdown product of purines that are part of many foods we eat. Gout has the unique distinction of being one of the most frequently recorded medical illnesses throughout history.

Gout can be extremely painful and incapacitating but is extremely treatable in almost all patients. It’s important to identify and treat it early to avoid pain and complications. Gout is a major problem in the foot, but it can also involve many other joints. Drink lots of water and avoid alcohol, beer, high-purine foods and sugary drinks to help reduce uric acid buildup. Probenecid is generally well tolerated but should not be used in patients who have uric acid kidney stones, as it can worsen the kidney stones and potentially harm the kidneys in these patients. Allopurinol is well tolerated by most people, but in some people, it can cause an allergic rash.

Medications

For some people gout looks like a sudden swelling at the base of the big toe. Gout affects around 1–2% of the Western population at some point in their lifetimes and is becoming more common. Rates of gout approximately doubled between 1990 and 2010. This rise is believed to be due to increasing life expectancy, changes in diet and an increase in diseases associated with gout, such as metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure. Factors that influence rates of gout include age, race, and the season of the year. Without treatment, an acute attack of gout usually resolves in five to seven days; however, 60% of people have a second attack within one year.

Allopurinol reduces the amount of uric acid in your blood and urine by slowing the rate at which the body makes uric acid. It is the best medicine for people who have kidney problems or kidney stones caused by uric acid. If you have kidney stones due to uric acid, you may need to avoid or limit foods that raise your uric acid level such as those listed below. Talk to your doctor about what foods you may have to avoid.

More Prevention Techniques

Starting these medicines while you are having a gout attack can make your attack much worse. This medicine may be used if xanthine oxidase inhibitors alone have not lowered uric acid levels enough. If there is swelling that causes pressure in a large joint such as a knee or ankle, your doctor may relieve the pain and pressure by aspiration. A needle is inserted into the joint and fluid is drawn out with a syringe connected to the needle. If gout symptoms have occurred off and on without treatment for several years, they may become ongoing and may affect more than one joint. Many people have a second attack of gout within 6 months to 2 years after their first attack.

What tea is good for gout?

Green tea has been extensively investigated for several potential health benefits. Previous studies have suggested that green tea may lower serum uric acid level in human. The purpose of this study is to investigate uric-lowering properties of green tea in healthy individuals.

Gout is a common disease and appears to be becoming more common over time. We are fortunate to have a strong armamentarium against this condition, with newer agents in development. Fortunately, present medications are successful in the vast majority of gout patients. But some patients cannot tolerate our present arsenal of gout medications. For others, these agents are not sufficiently effective. Some of the more promising include anakinra, rilonacept, canakinumab, BCX4208 and arhalofenate.

Some people may never experience gout signs and symptoms again. Medications may help prevent gout attacks in people with recurrent gout. If left untreated, gout can cause erosion and destruction of a joint. Gout occurs more often in men, primarily because women tend to have lower uric acid levels. After menopause, however, women's uric acid levels approach those of men. Men are also more likely to develop gout earlier — usually between the ages of 30 and 50 — whereas women generally develop signs and symptoms after menopause.

Gout frequently occurs in combination with other medical problems. Metabolic syndrome, a combination of abdominal obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, and abnormal lipid levels, occurs in nearly 75% of cases. Other conditions commonly complicated by gout include lead poisoning, kidney failure, hemolytic anemia, psoriasis, solid organ transplants, and myeloproliferative disorders such as polycythemia. A body mass index greater than or equal to 35 increases male risk of gout threefold. Chronic lead exposure and lead-contaminated alcohol are risk factors for gout due to the harmful effect of lead on kidney function. For control of acute attacks of joint pain, there are NSAIDs, colchicine and corticosteroids.

Anti-inflammatory steroids are very different in action and side-effects as compared to male hormone steroids. Anti-inflammatory steroids have long-term risks, such as bone thinning and infection, but their risk for short-term (for example, 3-7 days) therapy is relatively low. These agents can raise blood pressure and blood sugar, so can be a problem for those with uncontrolled hypertension or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.

Can you eat bread with gout?

White bread, pasta and noodles
Refined carbohydrates are safe to eat for gout sufferers because they have a low purine content. But too much consumption of refined carbohydrates can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and increase one's risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

However, while gout is due to an excess of uric acid, pseudogout results from the presence of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals. The medical name for pseudogout is calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease . As the “pseudo” in its name suggests, pseudogout is not actually gout—but it does have very similar symptoms. Both cause intense pain and swelling in a joint due to the buildup of crystals in the affected area. Uric acid crystals can cause intense and sudden inflammation, pain, redness, stiffness and burning in and around joints that can persist for several weeks. Gout often starts in one of the big toes, but it can also affect the fingers, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, heels, and other joint areas.

What Complications Are Associated With Gout?

Eating skim milk powder enriched with glycomacropeptide and G600 milk fat extract may reduce pain but may result in diarrhea and nausea. Gout is usually not preventable through lifestyle changes alone. Many people with gout need medicines to get their gout under control.