Gout Symptoms, Causes & Diet Recommendations

Content

• Gout Symptoms And Complications
• What Are Symptoms And Signs Of Gout?
• Become A Member Of Our Health And Wellness Email List
• Chronic Persistent Arthritis
• Diagnosing Gouty Arthritis
• The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Gout

Certain diseases and conditions increase your risk of gout. These include untreated high blood pressure and chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and heart and kidney diseases. You and your health care professional can decide what might be best to treat your gout attacks and help prevent future gout attacks. Be sure to share your thoughts with your health care professional. Your health care professional may also suggest other ways to help prevent future gout attacks, such as those listed below. More research is needed to know if any specific changes in diet or lifestyle may help.

Keep in mind that not everyone with high uric acid levels has gout. If uric acid levels remain high over a long period of time, deposits can develop around joints and tendons. These chalky deposits, called tophi, look like white toothpaste and create visible lumps under the skin. After the first gout attack it may be months or years before another one occurs. People who are not taking preventive treatment, however, typically have the next attack within 2 years. Later attacks can become more severe and affect more than one joint at a time.

Gout Symptoms And Complications

But gout is still very much with us, and the number of Americans affected seems to be increasing, at least partly because of the obesity epidemic. Gout remains a disease that mainly affects middle-aged and older men, although postmenopausal women are vulnerable too, perhaps because they lack the protective effect of estrogen. The diuretics ("water pills") that many people take to control high blood pressure are another contributing factor. There are several reasons for this but medications, such as cyclosporine, taken to reduce the chances of organ rejection and reduced kidney function are major contributors.

How do you check for gout?

Tests to help diagnose gout may include: 1. Joint fluid test. Your doctor may use a needle to draw fluid from your affected joint.
2. Blood test. Your doctor may recommend a blood test to measure the levels of uric acid in your blood.
3. X-ray imaging.
4. Ultrasound.
5. Dual-energy computerized tomography (DECT).

Although eating certain foods and drinking alcohol may trigger a rise in the level of uric acid in the body, these habits may not by themselves cause gout. Gout is most often caused by an overproduction of uric acid or decreased elimination of uric acid by the kidneys. The most common sign of gout is a nighttime attack of swelling, tenderness, redness, and sharp pain in your big toe. You can also get gout attacks in your foot, ankle, or knees, or other joints. The attacks can last a few days or many weeks before the pain goes away. To diagnose gout, doctors usually will evaluate your symptoms and ask about your medical and family history.

What Are Symptoms And Signs Of Gout?

Acute flare-ups can strike suddenly, often at night, and last from days to weeks. Besides pain, other symptoms include redness, swelling, and warmth at the affected joint. In a typical presentation, gout affects the metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe and causes a lump that looks similar to a bunion but is bright red and warm. Even though most tophi will develop in the big toe, around the fingers, or at the tip of the elbow, tophi nodules can appear practically anywhere in the body. In some cases, they can penetrate the skin and cause crusty, chalk-like nodules.

Anti-inflammatories and corticosteroids can treat the symptoms of gout attacks. Your doctor may also prescribe newer medications that reduce the amount of uric acid in your blood. However, uric acid may continue to build up in your bloodstream and joint spaces, plotting its next assault. Continue to see your doctor regularly and follow his or her orders for eating right, drinking plenty of water, and taking medicine. Losing weight if you’re heavy can also prevent future attacks.

In some rare cases, such as when a tophus is infected or when its location is causing major disability, surgical removal may be considered. Certain carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, wheat germ, and bran have moderate purine content but have not been shown to be significant gout risk factors. For those interested in achieving the maximal lowering of uric acid by dietary means, two “Gout Haters Cookbooks” are listed in the “Books about Gout” section below. and all four of their cookbooks can be purchased online.

Mild attacks usually resolve quickly, but severe attacks can last days or weeks. The black arrows point to places where bone has worn away. Allopurinol reduces the amount of uric acid your body produces.

What are symptoms of high uric acid?

Hyperuricemia occurs when there's too much uric acid in your blood. High uric acid levels can lead to several diseases, including a painful type of arthritis called gout.
Goutsevere pain in your joints.
joint stiffness.
difficulty moving affected joints.
redness and swelling.
misshapen joints.

News-Medical spoke to Professor Peter M Nilsson about cardiovascular disease risk and whether this is affected by the number of siblings you have. The football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champ talks about living with the painful arthritic condition. But many are a waste of time; learn which remedies may help and which ones don't. A new study challenges the perception that gout is the result of gluttony and overindulgence in food and drink. This test can help predict and monitor the formation ofkidney stones. Kidney stones are a complication of gout in some people.

Second, risk factors, typical presentation of symptoms, and key diagnostic parameters will be reviewed so that the pharmacist may achieve an appreciation of the disease. Colchicine prevents white blood cells from attacking gout crystal. In addition to helping prevent future attacks, colchicine may effectively reduce inflammation during an acute gout attack.

But there may be intervals of many years between attacks. If gout is untreated, the frequency of attacks usually increases with time. It may get worse quickly, last for hours, and be so intense that even light pressure from a sheet is intolerable. Losing weight, which helps reduce urate levels and can help stop or lower the number of flares you have if you are overweight or obese. Some people with gout may be more likely to develop other conditions or complications, especially with the heart and kidneys. Some people may have frequent flares, while others may not have another flare for years.