Title: Gout Treatment in Warangal
1- Gout
- Gout is a chronic auto inflammatory disease with
regular acute flares which causes severe pain
and joint inflammation. It mainly occurs due to
high content of uric acid in the blood, this
leads to accumulation of uric acid crystals in
the joints and surrounding tissues that causes
inflammation. It is a type of arthritis that
affects the common joints such as big toe, ankle
and knee. - Causes of Gout
- It is caused by excess uric acid in the body that
leads to the development of monosodium urate
crytal deposits in the joints. - Uric acid is a natural waste product that
generates from the foods that contain purines.
In a normal person uric acid is flushed out
through the kidneys and passes out in urine. If
you consume foods which are high in purine, your
body sometimes cannot get rid of this by-product
and uric acid will build up in the blood. When
the level of uric acid is high it is known as
hyperuricemia and it may lead to the gout. - Gout is caused by different factors such as diet,
genetics, obesity, stress, high consumption of
alcohol, medications. It also happens with people
who have other healthy issues like diabetics,
heart failure, kidney problems, and hypertension. - The extra uric acid forms crystals that are sharp
and pokey causes joint pain and swelling. - Symptoms of gout
- Apart from inflammation, swelling and pain, acute
gout attacks very fast with intense joint pain
within 8 to 12 hours. - Gout first occurs in legs or feet and often
affects a single joint mainly the joint of big
toe. - You may find redness in the skin over a joint.
- Might experience mild fever and chills
- You may have pain in your back and side
- Gout may also cause kidney stones.
2- Lumps of urate crystal deposits formed under the
skin.
How is gout diagnosed? Your doctor will ask to
do few tests like Joint fluid tests a fluid
sample is taken from the affected joint and
examined under a microscope to find the urate
crystals. Some infections may have similar
symptoms like gout, in such cases, the doctor
may check for bacteria in joint fluid. Blood
test blood test is done to find out the level of
uric acid in the blood. Sometimes these tests are
confusing because some patients may have high
uric acid level and they never experienced gout.
And for some patients they have symptoms of gout
but they do not have high level of uric
acid. X-ray imaging x rays help in finding out
if there is any other inflammation in the joints.
Ultrasound and CT scan this technique is used
to detect urate crystal in the joint or in a
tophus. Treatment for gout Acute gout will
last within 3 to 10 days with or without
medicines. Some may get only once in their
lifetime and some may get repeatedly due to their
change in diet or any other health issues. For
acute gout, medicines are given to reduce
inflammation and pain because they do not have
any high uric acid levels. If the level of gout
is high then long term medication is must to
maintain the uric acid levels.
For acute level of gout
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication is
given. - To relieve from pain and inflammation oral
medication- Colchicines is given. - Hydration
- For life time chronic gout
- Need to do lifestyle modifications by avoiding
alcohol, reducing protein intake, reduce weight
if you are obese. - Long term medications are given to maintain uric
acid level in blood. You may sometimes need to
continue medicines even if your gout is better
because there can be low lying inflammation
between attacks. The crystal deposits can become
big in size and eventually become hard and it
may damage the joint. So the medicines will help
you to maintain the uric acid levels.
3Prevention of gout To treat and prevent acute
gout, medication is the most effective way that
can prevent recurrent attacks. However, by
making certain lifestyle changes may help in
prevention of gout such as Completely avoid
alcohol, avoid cool drinks and juices with sugar,
Instead high intake of fluids and water will
help. Reduce intake of foods which are high in
purines like red meat and sea foods. Exercise
regularly and maintain a healthy
weight. Conclusion Gout is a serious and
painful problem which cannot be cured completely.
It is a long term disease that can only be
controlled with the combination of medicines to
control the uric acid level and anti
inflammation drugs to control the flare- up. By
lowering the levels of uric acid in the blood
most people do not develop the fourth and most
disabling stage of the disease.