Gout Treatments

Content

• Physical Measures In Treating An Acute Attack Of Gout
• The Pharmacological Mechanism Of Zhuye Shigao Decoction In The Treatment Of Gout
• Gout Causes
• Gout Prevention

This stands in contrast to the 80% risk of adverse GI effects with the classic hourly colchicine regimen for the treatment of acute gout. Dosages of colchicine did not have to be adjusted when the drug was used in combination with azithromycin. Gout treatment can be categorized into medicines used to treat an acute attack, and medicines used to prevent gout complications, such as tophi. If you experience sudden, intense pain in a joint, see your doctor for a diagnosis. Gout that is not treated can cause irreversible joint damage, kidney stones and the formation of tophi. Although TCM has a strong advantage in the treatment of gout, the application of TCM herbs or formulas should follow the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment from TCM perspective.

In order to be effective, these medicines must be taken continuously. This will help your body get rid of excess uric acid and will keep the uric acid level from rising again. In rare cases, this drug can cause a severe allergic reaction. If you have a skin rash along with hives, itching, fever, nausea or muscle pain, contact your doctor right away. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive or operate machinery. To diagnose gout, doctors usually will evaluate your symptoms and ask about your medical and family history.

Physical Measures In Treating An Acute Attack Of Gout

For acute attacks of gout, a key is treating as quickly as possible and choosing a medication least likely to cause side-effects, with special attention to individual co-morbidities. For chronic prevention of gout, the essential message is that present treatments work in a huge majority of patients, and are generally well-tolerated. Since it is hard to heal the skin after a tophus is removed, a skin graft may be needed. For this reason, we often try hard to manage the tophus medically.

How do people get gout?

Gout occurs when urate crystals accumulate in your joint, causing the inflammation and intense pain of a gout attack. Urate crystals can form when you have high levels of uric acid in your blood. Your body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines — substances that are found naturally in your body.

Cleveland Clinic offers expert diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for bone, joint or connective tissue disorders and rheumatic and immunologic diseases. If you experience sudden, intense pain in a joint, call a healthcare provider right away. If the joint is hot and inflamed, you might have gout — or you might have another problem like an infection.

The Pharmacological Mechanism Of Zhuye Shigao Decoction In The Treatment Of Gout

In recent years, TCM formulas are often modified or combined with chemical drugs to treat gout with fewer side effects, and have been regarded as the promising treatments . Among these, Simiao Powder as well as the modified ones like Jiawei Simiao Powder, Tongfeng Decoction, Danxi Tongfeng Decoction are widely used for gout of damp-heat type. Chen et al. found that the TCM formulas combined with chemical drugs showed better effect than chemical drugs applied alone. Based on Simiao Powder, Tongfeng Decoction is invented and widely used.

Alcohol can also affect uric acid metabolism and cause hyperuricemia. It causes gout by slowing down the excretion of uric acid from the kidneys as well as by causing dehydration, which precipitates the crystals in the joints. Obesity, excessive weight gain, especially in youth, moderate to heavy alcohol intake, high blood pressure, diabetes, and abnormal kidney function are among the risk factors for developing gout. Certain drugs and diseases can also cause elevated levels of uric acid. Also, there is an increased prevalence of abnormally low thyroid hormone levels in patients with gout. It is important to note that allopurinol is not used to treat gout attacks; in fact, an attack may occur when beginning therapy, and the attack can be managed with anti-inflammatory medications or colchicine.

Since gout is a form of arthritis and fish oil has been proven to be an effective treatment for arthritis, it only makes sense its omega-3 content benefits people with gout. "Gout is a challenging disease to treat because there are only a handful of oral therapies to lower uric acid," says Puja Khanna, M.D., M.P.H., a rheumatologist at Michigan Medicine. "Now, we have a medication that works and gives us a better chance to help people who have been suffering from gout for decades." Patients who have only occasional attacks of gout, may only need to take these medicines for 2-3 weeks. Whereas patients with multiple tophi may need to continue treatment for months. Probenecid is an alternative uric acid lowering medicine with fewer significant side effects than allopurinol.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are sometimes used to relieve the pain and swelling of an acute attack. They usually begin working within 24 hours after you start taking them. These medications are as effective as colchicine but may have less frequent side effects. However, side effects from NSAIDs may include stomach upset, headache, skin rashes and sometimes ulcers. When the body has high levels of uric acid, or hyperuricemia, uric acid crystals can concentrate in the joints.

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Gout treatment involves managing the flare up and treating the underlying problem to prevent future episodes. The initial treatment goal is to reduce pain and inflammation quickly and safely. Baraf says that he asks patients to abstain from alcohol during the first six months of treatment, until medications have stabilized uric acid levels. The joints of the big toe are the most commonly affected by gout, but the condition is not limited to the big toe alone. A gout attack can involve almost any joint of the body, whether big or small.

Is Rice OK for gout?

A 2016 study found that reducing the glycemic index lowered uric acid levels in participants. Limiting foods with a high glycemic index such as white bread, pasta, and white rice may help to reduce uric acid levels and possibly prevent gout onset or flares.

Tophi occur when the uric acid crystals build up and form small lumps. They can occur anywhere but commonly develop at pressure points, such as the elbows, or around hand or foot joints. Another effective way to reduce uric acid levels is to follow a low-purine diet.

Interestingly, the uric acid is typically lowered during a flare of inflammatory gouty arthritis. Therefore, the optimal time to measure the uric acid is after a flare has resolved when acute inflammation is not present. Uric acid crystals can form stones in the kidneys, in the ureters or in the bladder itself. Several factors may cause the formation of these deposits. For example, the deposits may be caused by not drinking enough liquids.

Gout is more common in the first toe, ankle, or mid-foot, but either condition can appear in a number of joints. While treated the same in the short term, long-term management is different. In an open-label pilot study of 10 patients with refractory acute gout treated with the interleukin -1 antagonist anakinra, pain was substantially reduced in all patients within 2 days, without side effects. Clinical signs of inflammation had disappeared in 9 of 10 patients by day 3 of treatment.

Use of this website and any information contained herein is governed by the Healthgrades User Agreement. The content on Healthgrades does not provide medical advice. Always consult a medical provider for diagnosis and treatment. Exercise Is Important When You Have Gout When you’re not having an attack, exercise is essential for managing gout symptoms.