Gout - Its Causes
Are you familiar with the situation where you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain on your big toe? It could be a sharp, throbbing, unbearable pain and the toe may feel hot, red, and swollen.
It looks like you are in for a bad attack of Gout.
There are a vast majority of similar Gout sufferers who are riddled with various questions about their condition.
Gout is regarded as one of the most painful of all arthritis and commonly affects the big toe of the foot as well as the various joints of the body like elbows, wrist, fingers, ankles, knees, etc.
Pain and swelling in these joints are caused when uric acid produced by our body deposits as crystals in the space between two bones, resulting in inflammation.
So, how exactly is Gout caused? As mentioned above, Gout is caused due to the build-up of excessive uric acid in the body.
Uric acid is produced normally in our body as a by product, but several reasons can result in it being produced in excess by our body and it builds up as crystals and leads to inflammation due to its inability to be excreted through urine.
But do you know the reason which contributes to the rising levels of uric acid? There are various reasons why this occurs:
It looks like you are in for a bad attack of Gout.
There are a vast majority of similar Gout sufferers who are riddled with various questions about their condition.
Gout is regarded as one of the most painful of all arthritis and commonly affects the big toe of the foot as well as the various joints of the body like elbows, wrist, fingers, ankles, knees, etc.
Pain and swelling in these joints are caused when uric acid produced by our body deposits as crystals in the space between two bones, resulting in inflammation.
So, how exactly is Gout caused? As mentioned above, Gout is caused due to the build-up of excessive uric acid in the body.
Uric acid is produced normally in our body as a by product, but several reasons can result in it being produced in excess by our body and it builds up as crystals and leads to inflammation due to its inability to be excreted through urine.
But do you know the reason which contributes to the rising levels of uric acid? There are various reasons why this occurs:
- Excessive alcohol intake can lead to Gout.
In fact, anything more than two drinks per day is considered risky. - A diet filled with red meat, poultry, seafood, rich gravies and sauces, and generally those rich in animal protein could contribute to symptoms of Gout.
- A sedentary lifestyle without any form of physical activity or exercise could lead to the person being afflicted with Gout.
- A person with body weight on the higher side has every possibility of contracting Gout because the more tissues the body has, the more it helps in the formation of uric acid.
- Medical problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, high levels of fat and cholesterol in the body, arteriosclerosis, etc could sometimes be a cause to contracting Gout.
- Medicines like diuretics, anti inflammatory drugs with salicylic acid, niacin, etc could be a reason for promoting Gout.
- Genetics play an important role in the person being afflicted with Gout.
If there is a family history of this disease, it is possible that this problem be recurrent in generations. - A male who is aged between 30 and 50 is more prone to contracting Gout, while more of menopausal women are seen afflicted with Gout.
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