The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Gout

Content

• Does The Location Of The Gout Attack Affect Treatment?
• Treatment
• Acute Pain Attacks
• How Uric Acid Crystals Form

The disease should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor or a team of doctors who specialize in care of gout patients. This is important because the signs and symptoms of gout are not specific and can look like signs and symptoms of other inflammatory diseases. Doctors who specialize in gout and other forms of arthritis are called rheumatologists.

Suggestions include gradual weight loss, avoidance of alcohol and reduced consumption of fructose‐containing drinks and foods high in purines. In fact, the number of postmenopausal women who have gout is increasing. However, it sometimes is difficult to diagnose gout in these women because they also may have osteoarthritis, a disease that causes the breakdown of joint tissue leading to joint pain and stiffness. Among the affected joints are finger joints, the joint at the base of the thumb and the joint at the base of the big toe. The confusion occurs because urate crystals tend to deposit in areas where osteoarthritis already has caused joint damage such as in the hands and feet. Allopurinol may be given in a single daily dose of 300 mg.

Does The Location Of The Gout Attack Affect Treatment?

An orthopedic physician will help you get relief from the pain of gout attacks and learn ways to prevent flare-ups in the future. But the most important fork in the road for gout sufferers is whether to start taking a drug that will lower their uric acid levels. Once people start taking these drugs, they usually must take them for the rest of their lives. Going on and off a uric acid–lowering medication can provoke gout attacks.

Treatment

Symptoms of a gout attack on joints are similar no matter which joint is affected. When gout flares up, you will experience extreme pain and stiffness in the affected joints and the area will also be red and warm to the touch. Inflammation from the gout attack can also affect your entire body in the form of a fever, chills, fatigue, and achiness. accumulates in your body, it can form needle-like crystals in your joints or the surrounding connective tissue and cause a painful attack of gout. Long-term medicine treatment depends on how high your uric acid levels are and how likely it is that you will have other gout attacks in the future.

While some medications are used to treat the hot, swollen joint, other medications are used to prevent further attacks of gout. With any of these medications, call a doctor if you think they are not working or if you are having other problems with the medication. A doctor may obtain a blood sample to look at cell counts, uric acid levels, kidney function, etc. In the past, gout was thought to be caused by drinking too much alcohol and eating too many rich foods. 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.

Tophi are most frequently found on the elbows and tips of the ears, but can also be present in other places, such as fingers or toes. Some patients with gout will also develop kidney stones composed of uric acid. The initial aim of treatment is to settle the symptoms of an acute attack. Repeated attacks can be prevented by medications that reduce serum uric acid levels.

Can gout be caused by stress?

Stress may trigger a gout attack, and it can exacerbate symptoms of a gout attack. While it's impossible to completely eliminate all of your stress, there are a number of ways to help minimize it. If you're experiencing a gout attack, reducing your stress can also help you focus on things other than the pain.

Correction and prevention of hyperuricemia - Uricosuric drugs or allopurinol may be used alone or in conjunction. Hypouricemic therapy may also be used for patients with tophi and a higher recurrance rate. Dietary restriction of high-purine foods is a less effective treatment technique but is still recommended.

What Are The Medical Treatments For Gout?

It tends to affect men after age 40 and women after menopause. Gout symptoms can be confused with another type of arthritis called calcium pyrophosphate deposition . However, the crystals that irritate the joint in this condition are calcium phosphate crystals, not uric acid. Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream and accumulation of urate crystals in tissues of the body. Uric acid crystal deposits in the joint cause inflammation of the joint leading to pain, redness, heat, and swelling. Uric acid is normally found in the body as a byproduct of the way the body breaks down certain proteins called purines.

What is the fastest way to get rid of gout?

What Is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Gout? 1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): These can quickly relieve the pain and swelling of an acute gout episode.
2. Corticosteroids: These drugs can be taken by mouth or injected into an inflamed joint to quickly relieve the pain and swelling of an acute attack.

Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications are the mainstay of treatment for gout. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , colchicine , and corticosteroids are used to decrease joint inflammation. It is important to contact your doctor soon after you have experienced a gout attack for help in reducing your uric acid levels. In the United States, gout is twice as likely in males of African descent than those of European descent.

How Do Doctors Diagnose Gout?

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Examples include indomethacin , ibuprofen , and naproxen . Gouty arthritis is sometimes diagnosed based on the typical clinical presentation without a joint aspiration. Malaika Hill is a freelance health writer specializing in ophthalmology and population health. Malaika can be found on her website mdwesolutions.com, LinkedIn @malaikadavid, or Twitter @malaika_hill. If you're taking one of these medicines, continue to take the medicine during the attack. If treatment is started right away, relief from symptoms often occurs within 24 hours.

It is not known why some people do not react to abnormally high levels of uric acid. Some other kinds of arthritis can mimic gout, so proper diagnosis is key. Acute attacks are typically followed by periods of no symptoms.

How Uric Acid Crystals Form

The reasons can include failure to take drugs as prescribed, drugs are prescribed at too low a dosage, and alcoholism. Gout with joint damage increases the risk of developing osteoarthritis. After repeated flare-ups, gout can become severe and persistent and may lead to joint deformity. In some cases, the large nodules of uric acid around finger or toe joints, tendons, or bursae need to be removed because they remain painfully inflamed. These nodules may also break open and drain or become infected. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk for gout.