Gout Treatments

Finding the right gout treatments may help aleve one of the most painful kinds of arthritis.

What Causes Gout

Gout occurs when the body produces too much uric acid.

When uric acid builds in the body it may crystallize and deposit in the joints or form kidney stones.

Most people first experience gout in their big toe often becoming swollen, warm, red, and painful.

It may also affect the insteps, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows resulting in intense pain and stiffness in your joints.

Attacks of gout may be brought on by stress, alcohol, drugs, or eating foods high in purines. If you believe you may have gout, seeking medical care may result in getting quick treatment for your gout.

Gout Prevention

The best treatment for gout is of course prevention. While anyone may get it, if you are overweight and have a family history of gout you may be at an increased risk.

Medical conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol may also increase your risk of gout. The best treatment option is to takes early steps on preventing the build up of uric acid.

You can do this by losing weight, avoiding alcohol, limiting aspirin intake, and foods high in purines like meat.

Treatments for Gout

For pain treatment, the use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen and Indomethacin are often used. Prednisone and Colchicine are also common as anti-inflammatory agents to reduce swelling and associated pain.

Dietary changes including the reduction of high purines foods, losing weight and an increase in water consumption are effective treatments for gout. Your doctor may also advise you to limit alcohol usage as part of your gout treatments.

In cases where kidney stones have developed treatments for gout may include efforts to normalize uric levels using Probenecid. Allopurinol is prescribed to block the production of uric acid from purines in the body.

With proper treatment gout may be controlled leaving you to live a relatively pain free life.

High Purine Foods to Eliminate

People who are susceptible to gout may want to make dietary changes to prevent the development of gout. Eliminating the following high purine foods from your diet will help with future attacks.

Organ meats such as liver, brains, sweet breads, mackerel, herring, sardines, mussels, yeast, mushrooms, asparagus, and anchovies are all high in purines.

Future Developments for Treating Gout

Scientists are working on new and better gout treatments... hopefully it may be eliminated in our lifetime. Meanwhile eating a balanced diet, taking medication, and avoiding stress may reduce the number and severity of attacks.

Engaging in a healthy lifestyle is the best prevention when treating gout.

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