Gout Treatment, Diet, Cause, Symptoms, Definition & Medication

Content

• What Can I Do To Prevent This In The Future?
• Treatments We Offer
• About Veritas Health

Founded by Dr. Arthur Kunath in 1986, our rheumatology practice now consists of six doctors who are board certified in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and a Physician Assistant. Patients see one doctor , thereby assuring continuity of care and an individualized doctor-patient atmosphere giving the physician the ability to establish personalized and detailed relationships. It is important to have an evaluation to determine which arthritic disease is causing the problem. Like other illnesses, early diagnosis and treatment of arthritis can impact the outcome of the illness. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk for gout. Gout is more common in men than in women and hits men at a younger age.

What is the difference of gout and arthritis?

Both cause pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints that can limit your range of motion. However, the cause differs. RA is an autoimmune disease, which means the body's own immune system attacks the joints, whereas the pain of gout is due to elevated levels of uric acid in the blood.

Researchers are studying whether lowering blood uric acid levels can help heart disease and kidney disease. When your body has extra uric acid, sharp crystals may form in the big toe or other joints, causing episodes of swelling and pain called gout attacks. Gout is treatable with medications and changes in diet and lifestyle. Reactive arthritis is a general term for a form of joint inflammation that develops as a “reaction” to an infection in another area of the body (i.e., outside of the joints).

What Can I Do To Prevent This In The Future?

Conjunctivitis and uveitis may cause redness and swelling of the eyes, eye pain, blurred vision, an abnormal sensitivity to light and crusting in the morning. Blurred vision and photophobia are more common with uveitis. Eye symptoms may occur early in the course of reactive arthritis.

When fluid is examined from an inflamed joint in pseudogout, the specific causative crystal can be seen. Dr. Craig B. Frey and Dr. Megan L. Oltmann want to focus on how we can help our Cuyahoga, Portage, Geauga, and Summit county patients ease the pain of a unique form of arthritis called gout. What makes gout unusual is how it differs from other forms of arthritis. Urate crystals may collect in the urinary tracts of people with gout, causing kidney stones. Some people may never experience gout signs and symptoms again. Medications may help prevent gout attacks in people with recurrent gout.

Treatments We Offer

As with cherries, scientists suspect it’s anthocyanin, along with other phytochemicals, that gives strawberries their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits. These berries are also a good source of folic acid, which the arthritis medication methotrexate can deplete. People taking the drug often need folic acid supplements to help prevent side effects. You may still need a capsule supplement, but strawberries help increase your intake while providing other benefits. Fruits are naturally sweet and many offer a substantial dose of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Some have components that may help lower the inflammation that often affects people with arthritis and is linked to other serious conditions, such as heart disease and stroke.

Corticosteroids, like prednisone, may be used to treat gout, but should only be used in the short-term, because of the risk of side-effects. A corticosteroid injection or 'cortisone' injection is frequently a safer way to treat gout in a single joint. Cox-2 inhibitors are a newer class of NSAID, which work to reduce inflammation but do not carry the same risk of gastrointestinal side effects.

Since obesity and excessive alcohol intake are associated with hyperuricemia and gout, losing weight and limiting alcohol intake can help ward off gout. Dehydration may also promote the formation of urate crystals, so people taking diuretics or "water pills" may be better off switching to another type of blood pressure medication. Everyone should be sure to drink at least six to eight glasses of water each day.

In most people with gout, the kidneys do not excrete uric acid adequately while in a minority of people with gout, too much uric acid is produced. Chronically high levels of uric acid in the blood form crystals, which are then deposited in joints, and sometimes tendons and skin as well. These deposits can cause pain-often severe-and swelling in the affected area or areas. A high level of uric acid in the blood causes problems for people with gout and may increase the risk of kidney disease in people without gout. Lowering the level of uric acid in the blood helps dissolve deposits of uric acid in the tissues and prevent flare-ups.

Many medications used to treat arthritis target inflammation as a way to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Gout flares often can occur when you first start to use medications that lower blood uric acid levels. Patients can help prevent flares when starting these medications by also using low‐dose colchicine or NSAIDs.

The pain that typically accompanies sudden gout attacks is intense and can feel as though the foot or joint is on fire. The small joint at the base of the big toe is the most common site for a gout attack. Other joints that can be affected include the ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows.

Orthopedists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, urologists, gynecologists and other health care professionals may need to systematically and comprehensively plan appropriate therapy. Arthritis can occur before or at the same time as eye and urinary symptoms or after they have subsided. Arthritis usually affects the joints of the lower legs causing pain, redness and swelling in the knees, ankles and feet. Other joints such as the wrists, elbows, and fingers are affected less frequently. Onset is usually rapid with two to four joints becoming involved within a few days. Heel pain is caused by enthesitis, a condition characterized by inflammation at the spot where the tendon attaches to bone.

Another alternative to tart cherry juice is tart cherry capsules. One brand, called Cherry Flex, uses the skin and the pulp of the Montmorency cherry in each of their capsules. The product also is marketed as a paste for those who have trouble swallowing the capsule.