by Causes and Risk Factors of Gout
Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is a waste product formed from the breakdown of purines. Purines are found naturally in your body as well as some foods like red meat, shellfish, and organ meats like liver. When there’s too much uric acid circulating in your blood, it can form sharp, needle-like crystals that deposit in joints and tissues. Some of the main risk factors for developing high uric acid levels and gout include:
– Genetics: You’re more likely to develop gout if a family member has it. Genes play a role in how your body makes and excretes uric acid.
– Diet: As mentioned above, diets high in purine-rich foods like red meat and seafood can raise uric acid levels. Alcohol also increases uric acid production.
– Medications: Certain medications like water pills (diuretics), aspirin, and pyrazinamide can increase the risk of gout by elevating uric acid levels or reducing excretion of uric acid.
– Medical conditions: Kidney disease, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure make it harder for your body to remove excess uric acid, raising the risk of gout. Crash dieting or rapid weight loss can also trigger gout attacks.
– Age and sex: Gout Disease Treatment is more common in men over age 40 and post-menopausal women. Uric acid levels tend to rise with age.
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Gout Disease Treatment
The hallmark symptom of gout is a hot, red, swollen, and extremely tender joint, typically the big toe. The pain and inflammation come on rapidly, often overnight. The most common site for the initial gout attack is at the base of the big toe. Other joints that may be affected include the feet, knees, hands, and wrists. The main symptoms include:
– Severe joint pain that worsens with movement or pressure applied to the affected area
– Joint redness and swelling
– Joint stiffness
– Fever and chills, sometimes with the initial attack
To diagnose gout, your doctor will review your medical history and symptoms and physically examine the affected joint. Blood tests to check uric acid levels can help confirm high uric acid as the cause of symptoms. Joint fluid analysis may also be done to look for urate crystals. Imaging tests like x-rays can detect urate deposits but are not usually needed for diagnosis.
Traditional Options for Gout Disease Treatment
Once diagnosed, the initial focus is treating the acute gout attack and reducing inflammation. Treatments used to treat gout flares include:
– Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDs like ibuprofen help reduce pain and swelling. They work by blocking prostaglandins that contribute to inflammation.
– Corticosteroids: Prednisone or other oral corticosteroids can be used for severe gout attacks, especially when NSAIDs are not tolerated or not effective enough. Corticosteroids reduce inflammation throughout the body.
– Colchicine: This medication derived from plants helps stop the inflammatory process leading to a gout attack. It works best when started early in the attack. Side effects can include nausea and diarrhoea.
– Joint aspiration and injection: Removing excess uric acid from the joint space through needle aspiration and sometimes injecting corticosteroids can relieve pain of an acute attack.
The goal after treatment for an acute attack is to prevent future gout flares. Urate-lowering therapies are used to reduce uric acid levels in the blood and sustain lower levels long-term. Options include:
– Allopurinol: This xanthine oxidase inhibitor lowers uric acid production and is often the first-line treatment for long-term management. It carries a small risk of severe skin reactions in some patients.
– Febuxostat: This medication also works by blocking uric acid production and is sometimes used as an alternative to allopurinol for those who cannot tolerate it.
– Probenecid: This uricosuric drug helps increase uric acid excretion through urine. It works better in patients with normal kidney function.
– Pegloticase: For those with severe gout not responsive to other medications, this uric acid enzyme works to breakdown uric acid in the bloodstream. However, it requires monthly IV infusions in a medical setting.
Dietary and Lifestyle Changes in Gout Disease Treatment
While medication aims to resolve acute attacks and reduce blood uric acid levels long-term, lifestyle modifications also play an important role in gout treatment. These include:
– Purine-restricted diet: Avoiding high purine foods like organ meats, anchovies, sardines, dried beans/peas, and beer. Moderate intake of red meat and seafood.
– Weight control: Obesity increases uric acid levels so achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can help lower gout risk.
– Alcohol limitation: Limiting alcoholic drinks to no more than 2 per day for men and 1 for women, as excess alcohol negatively impacts uric acid levels.
– Fluid intake: Drinking 10-12 glasses of water daily helps flush uric acid from the body. Avoid sugar-sweetened drinks.
– Exercise: Regular moderate physical activity like walking 30 minutes daily can aid weight control and promote urate excretion as long as joints are not actively inflamed.
– Stress reduction: Emotional and physical stress may precipitate gout attacks in susceptible individuals. Managing stress with relaxation techniques can be helpful.
– Treatment compliance: Following urate-lowering drug therapy as prescribed by your doctor is critical to sustainably lower uric acid levels over the long-term.
Gout disease treatment involves a multifaceted approach with lifestyle modifications, medications to resolve acute flares, and long-term urate-lowering therapy to reduce blood uric acid levels and prevent future attacks. With adherence to medications and dietary/lifestyle changes, people with gout can adequately control their condition.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public Source, Desk Research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.
Ravina Pandya, a content writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemicals and materials, etc. With an MBA in E-commerce, she has expertise in SEO-optimized content that resonates with industry professionals.
