What is Gout and What Causes It?
Gout has been known for more than 2000 years. It can affect men of any age, but is much less common in women and then, apart from a
few rare situations, only occurs after the menopause. The old saying that gout is caused simply by eating and drinking too much has now been proved wrong. It is true that if you over-indulge in alcohol (especially beer and wine) or food, attacks of gout are more likely, but that is not the whole story.
What happens?
Gout is caused when uric acid, a waste product of the body which normally passes out of the body, accumulates in the joints.
It occurs because some people do not pass out enough uric acid or they produce too much of it in the first place. When uric acid builds up in the body it can form crystals in and around joints, which leads to inflammation and pain.
What should I do if I have a gout attack?
You should rest in bed. Putting a hot pad or an ice pack on the joint may ease the pain. Keeping the weight of clothes or bedding off the joint can also help. Medicines that you can take without a prescription that reduce inflammation, such as aspirin or ibuprofen (one brand name: Motrin), may help. Your doctor can also prescribe medicine for you.
The sooner you get treatment, the sooner the pain will go away. Your doctor can prescribe medicine to stop the joint swelling and pain. With treatment, your gout attack should go away in a few days.
Use in Moderation
· Vegetables: asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms and green peas
· Lentils, dried peas and beans
· Beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood
· Oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ
Aside from avoiding high purine foods, maintaining a healthy body weight is important for gout patients as well. Obesity can result in increased uric acid production by the body. Follow a well-balanced diet to lose excess body weight. Do not follow a high-protein low-carb diet as this can worsen gout conditions.
How To Treat Gout With Diet and Medication
· Typically, gout patients are about 95% men, 5% women. An initial attack of gout (50% of initial attacks involve the big toe) may last several days and disappear even if untreated. Subsequent attacks may not occur for weeks, months, years, or not at all.
In severe cases, repeated attacks occurring over a long period may cause damage to the joints and loss of mobility. The big toe is
eventually affected in 90% of cases. Knowing how to treat gout is important for preventing attacks.
Tophaceous Gout
The principle of treatment of tophi is to lower the plasma urate concentration to such a degree, as to allow urate to be resorbed
from the surface of the tophi. The uric acid therefore is slowly excreted at the kidney, and production is lower than excretion,resulting in net loss of uric acid.(In this phase, I use citrosoda 10ml twice a day to prevent deposition of crystal in the kidney, and prevent kidney stone developement.)
few rare situations, only occurs after the menopause. The old saying that gout is caused simply by eating and drinking too much has now been proved wrong. It is true that if you over-indulge in alcohol (especially beer and wine) or food, attacks of gout are more likely, but that is not the whole story.
What happens?
Gout is caused when uric acid, a waste product of the body which normally passes out of the body, accumulates in the joints.
It occurs because some people do not pass out enough uric acid or they produce too much of it in the first place. When uric acid builds up in the body it can form crystals in and around joints, which leads to inflammation and pain.
What should I do if I have a gout attack?
You should rest in bed. Putting a hot pad or an ice pack on the joint may ease the pain. Keeping the weight of clothes or bedding off the joint can also help. Medicines that you can take without a prescription that reduce inflammation, such as aspirin or ibuprofen (one brand name: Motrin), may help. Your doctor can also prescribe medicine for you.
The sooner you get treatment, the sooner the pain will go away. Your doctor can prescribe medicine to stop the joint swelling and pain. With treatment, your gout attack should go away in a few days.
Use in Moderation
· Vegetables: asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms and green peas
· Lentils, dried peas and beans
· Beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood
· Oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ
Aside from avoiding high purine foods, maintaining a healthy body weight is important for gout patients as well. Obesity can result in increased uric acid production by the body. Follow a well-balanced diet to lose excess body weight. Do not follow a high-protein low-carb diet as this can worsen gout conditions.
How To Treat Gout With Diet and Medication
· Typically, gout patients are about 95% men, 5% women. An initial attack of gout (50% of initial attacks involve the big toe) may last several days and disappear even if untreated. Subsequent attacks may not occur for weeks, months, years, or not at all.
In severe cases, repeated attacks occurring over a long period may cause damage to the joints and loss of mobility. The big toe is
eventually affected in 90% of cases. Knowing how to treat gout is important for preventing attacks.
Tophaceous Gout
The principle of treatment of tophi is to lower the plasma urate concentration to such a degree, as to allow urate to be resorbed
from the surface of the tophi. The uric acid therefore is slowly excreted at the kidney, and production is lower than excretion,resulting in net loss of uric acid.(In this phase, I use citrosoda 10ml twice a day to prevent deposition of crystal in the kidney, and prevent kidney stone developement.)
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