Gout « Disease Spotlights « Jointhealth

Content

• Avoid Joint Injury
• What Are The Treatments For Gout?
• Blood Test
• Who's Affected By Gout?
• When Should I Call My Healthcare Provider About Gout Symptoms?

In particular, women have an increased risk after menopause. Following menopause, production of the hormone estrogen, which plays a role in removing urate from the body, declines so older women have a rise in urate levels and an increased risk of developing gout. When gout flares, your white blood cells attack the uric acid crystals that form on the linings of your joints and can get damaged in the process.

People who develop destructive arthritis related to chronic gout may be helped with surgery. Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines. If the gout attack is mild, anti-inflammatory drugs available without a prescription may relieve pain. Because there are serious side effect of using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs — even the over-the-counter strength — be sure to check with your doctor before taking them. A blood test can measure the level of uric acid in your blood.

Avoid Joint Injury

Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensity in less than 12 hours. The joint at the base of the big toe is affected in about half of cases. It may also result in tophi, kidney stones, or kidney damage. Gout comes in sudden, and sometimes severe attacks, also called flares, or flare-ups. During a gout attack you may have pain, swelling, and/or redness in your joints. Gout attacks often happen in the big toe, but can affect any of your body’s joints like your elbows, knees, hands, or ankles.

What is the best thing to drink if you have gout?

Drink plenty of water, milk and tart cherry juice. Drinking coffee seems to help as well. Be sure to talk with your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Left untreated, the most intense phase of the first attack usually lasts 3-4 days, with the pain gradually subsiding over the following 3-4 days. Typically with gout, the pain and inflammation disappear on their own. Reducing inflammation during an acute gout attack will provide pain relief. Uric acid is produced when your body breaks down purines, which are substances naturally found in your body, as well as in protein-rich foods. At normal levels in your blood, uric acid is a powerful antioxidant and does not cause any damage. The body keeps uric acid at a set level by excreting it through the kidneys and in urine.

What Are The Treatments For Gout?

Your doctor may recommend more frequent screening tests or more aggressive management of other heart disease risk factors that also occur with gout, such as high blood pressure. One in 10 people with chronic kidney disease have gout, and an even higher percentage of people with gout have kidney disease. “Uric acid is processed through the kidneys,” says Dr. Khanna. “As we grow older, the kidneys can’t process as much uric acid,” says Dr. Khanna. Damage from urate crystals can lead to kidney disease over time, especially if gout is not well-treated. For control of acute attacks of joint pain, there are NSAIDs, colchicine and corticosteroids.

At high levels, uric acid crystallizes and the crystals deposit in joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues, resulting in an attack of gout. Gout occurs more commonly in those who regularly drink beer or sugar-sweetened beverages or who eat foods that are high in purines such as liver, shellfish, or anchovies, or are overweight. Diagnosis of gout may be confirmed by the presence of crystals in the joint fluid or in a deposit outside the joint. or another drug to treat high blood pressure does not prevent or heal existing joint damage caused by uric acid crystals because the crystals are still in the joints between flare-ups of gout.

People with sleep apnea experience many small interruptions in breathing while they sleep, and this lowers the level of oxygen in their blood. This is thought to affect a process that elevates the production of uric acid in the body, which raises gout risk. To prevent uric acid stones from gout, doctors commonly prescribe the uric acid-lowering medication allopurinol. In some cases, allopurinol and an alkalizing agent may dissolve the uric acid stones. To help prevent calcium stones from forming, your doctor may prescribe a thiazide diuretic or a phosphate-containing preparation. They last only a week or so and then everything seems to go back to normal with no symptoms between episodes.

Who's Affected By Gout?

Levels that cannot be brought below 6.0 mg/dl while attacks continue indicates refractory gout. As of 2020, allopurinol is generally the recommended preventative treatment if medications are used. A number of other medications may occasionally be considered to prevent further episodes of gout, including probenecid, febuxostat, benzbromarone, and colchicine. Long term medications are not recommended until a person has had two attacks of gout, unless destructive joint changes, tophi, or urate nephropathy exist. It is not until this point that medications are cost-effective.

How painful is gout on a scale?

The pain during a gout flare is so excruciating that many visit the emergency room for care. On a typical pain scale, most people with gout will rank their pain as a nine or a 10 – with even the slightest touch causing agony.

There are special programs that help people with all kinds of arthritis adapt their exercise needs. TheCDC has a list of recommended programs that you can find in your local hospital, community center, or YMCA. Causes of high uric acid levels can be primary , and secondary . Sometimes, the body produces more uric acid than it is able to excrete. Doctors have different treatment options for people with chronic gout.

During an attack of gout, some people find it helpful to rest and elevate the affected joint. As well, ice may be used to reduce pain and inflammation. There are a number of strategies prevent acute attacks of gout.

They are not usually started until one to two weeks after an acute flare has resolved, due to theoretical concerns of worsening the attack. They are often used in combination with either an NSAID or colchicine for the first three to six months. Gout frequently occurs in combination with other medical problems.