Introduction
Today, gout has become a common problem in people. It is also a common type of inflammatory arthritis caused in men. In contrast, women may also suffer from the problem usually after the phase of menopause. However, the question is what is gout disease, and how one can overcome it? For this, we have discussed a few interesting things related to gout disease in our blog post.
Overview and Affected Areas of Gout Disease
Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis disease. It causes swelling and pain in the bone joints. Gout takes place whenever there is an excessive uric acid buildup in the body. Gout mainly affects the joints of one’s big toes. However, it may even affect a few other bone joints. These include ankles, knees, feet, wrists, hands, and elbows.
Occurrence of Gout Disease and Gout Symptoms
Gout symptoms often recur or come and go in the form of gout attacks or flares. Your doctor will recommend medications and certain dietary changes to reduce the levels of uric acid and reduce your probability of future gout attacks.
Common Symptoms of Acute Gout Disorder
Moderate to severe pain is a noticeable symptom of gout. However, patients may have a few other gout symptoms as well. These include the following-
- Sudden throbbing or crushing pain in any of the joints, such as ankles, knees, or big toes that will last for some days
- Acute gouty arthritis may sometimes have a sudden onset during the nighttime. The pain in the big toe joint will be so severe that the patient feels discomfort even after covering the affected part with bedsheets.
- In some cases, individuals with acute gout disorder have inflamed and swollen joints with purple or reddish skin that will feel warm.
Signs and Symptoms of Chronic Gout
Unlike the case of acute gout pain, chronic gout disorder causes persistent aches with relatively more soreness. Moreover, chronic/severe gout pain will tend to cause a continuous dull ache or soreness in the bones or joints. A few patients with chronic gout disease will have lumps or hard white deposits of uric acid crystals below their skin. Doctors refer to the lumps as tophi and they are mainly present on one’s fingers, elbows, or ears.
Common Causes of Gout Disorder
An excessive buildup of uric acid is one of the common gout causes in humans. The human body makes uric acid naturally whenever its organs break down purines and other chemicals present in certain food items and beverages. In this situation, kidneys filter uric acid out from the blood and release it with urine.
However, the human body sometimes makes uric acid in excessive amounts or the kidneys fail to remove it from the blood at a fast rate. Indeed, when a human body has uric acid at high levels, its crystals may build up to settle in the joints. Such sharp crystals will clump together to cause joint pain, swelling, and related symptoms.
Other than gout causes, there are many risk factors associated with the disorder. These include old age, genetic disorders, diabetes, obesity, and dietary choices. In some cases, a hike in uric acid levels followed by gout takes place from salicylate and diuretics drugs.
Treatment of Gout Disorder and its Symptoms
Treatment of gout involves a combination of managing its symptoms at the time of a flare. The procedure also aims to reduce the frequency of your consumed high-purine food items and beverages.
Medications to Treat the Disorder
Your doctor may recommend the following medications related to your gout treatment or managing its symptoms. These include the following-
Over-the-counter NSAIDs
Over-the-counter NSAIDs, like naproxen and ibuprofen, may reduce both pain and swelling at the time of a gout attack. A few people who have kidney problems or stomach ulcers should never intake NSAIDs.
Colchicine Prescribed Medication
Many doctors also give colchicine prescription medicine for gout treatment. The main role of Colchicine is to reduce pain and inflammation if the patient takes it within a few hours of the gout attack.
Corticosteroids Prescribed Medications
Corticosteroids prescribed medications may also reduce inflammation. You need to intake it orally in the form of pills. Alternatively, your doctor may inject corticosteroids directly into the affected joints or into a surrounding muscle near the affected joint.
Other Prescribed Medications
Your doctor may recommend a few other prescribed medications to reduce your uric acid levels.
A Low-purine Diet Plan to Treat Gout
Your doctor will recommend a low-purine diet plan to encourage the consumption of limited foods containing high amounts of purine. It will reduce the level of uric acid in your body.
Conclusion
Gout is a common type of arthritis, as it affects many men and women across the world. It also results in intense pain, stiffness, and swelling across and in specific joints. The presence of excessive uric acid in the human blood is a prime cause of gout disorder and gout symptoms.
It takes place when the body produces uric acid excessively or the kidneys fail to excrete it efficiently. Doctors involved in gout treatment will recommend a few prescribed medications to reduce pain and reduce inflammation. Also, medicines and diet plans aim to regulate uric acid levels
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