Knowing The Gout Symptoms And Treatment Is The Best Way To Beat Gout Pains

Gout in most cases causes inflammation and pain in the joints, most commonly in the arms and legs. However, it is also a medical fact that it can also build in the other joint areas of your body including the insteps, heels, ankles, fingers, wrists, and elbows.

Before digging in to gout symptoms and treatment, we need to recognize what causes gout. If one has too much urate or uric acid in the body, he or she can develop gout. If the level of uric acid in your bloodstream is significantly high, it will develop into small crystalline substances that assemble in your tissues especially in the joint areas.

Those substances that assemble in the tissues are the reasons for the inflammation and the pain. These crystals form in cooler temperatures, thus, the reason why gout is common in the toes and in the fingers.

Gout is possible to occur in the following conditions or situations:

In males aged 30 to 60

In women of menopausal age

Eating food with high levels of purines regularly or without moderation

Consumption of excessive alcohol

In a long-term administration of diuretics ("water pills"), which increase the flow of urine from the body

Taking medicines that can increase uric acid in the bloodstream, like the vitamin B12

Having a genetic history of gout

In malfunctioning kidneys, wherein kidneys do not excrete enough urate through urine

In overweight individuals

Having high blood pressure

Having injured a joint

In genetic malfunctioning of metabolism which might lead to overproduction of urate and withholding of uric acid in your bloodstreams

How then do you know if you are suffering from gout? Gout can occur in stages: from asymptomatic, to acute, inter-critical, and to chronic stage. One can experience the following symptoms, whenever affected by gout:

stiffness and severe pain of the affected joint
inflammation and warmth of the affected joint
redness of the area on the affected joint
fever
firm, white lumps under the skin, called tophi

Treatments of Gout

Presently there is still no definite cure for gout. The best line of protection for gout is self-help, healthy lifestyle, and properly prescribed medicines to help with the swelling and pain.

Eat right and stay away from high-purine foods like sardines, anchovies, brains, liver, kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, tongue, shellfish, fish roe, scallops, peas, lentils, beans, and disproportionate amount of red meat.

Bring down or totally erase alcohol from your daily intakes. Alcohol inhibits the proper process of removing uric acid from your blood.

There are also medicines prescribed by health practitioners that can help ease swelling and pain.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like naproxen may stop the pain and inflammation. However, these medications should be properly supervised by doctors.

If NSAIDs are not suitable for you, taking in colchicines (potent alkaloid plant extracts) is an option. Its mechanism is to reduce the build up of urate.

Steroid tablets although rarely prescribed if you can't take NSAIDs or colchicines.

Steroid injections, which are occasionally administered for large joints like that of the knee.

As an overall therapy, living an active lifestyle can help you manage gout. As we constantly move our limbs and other joint areas, the crystalline substances can be prevented from settling down in clumps and in concentration.