The Medications og Gout

Medication treatment for gout may be done in two separate stages.

• First, the pain, swelling, redness, and warmth (inflammation) during an attack of gout is treated until the symptoms have gone away.
• Second, after the inflammation has subsided (2 to 4 weeks), other medications may be used to reduce the uric acid level in the blood and reduce the frequency of future attacks.

Medications to lower uric acid levels are not given until a gout attack is over. Starting these medications during a gout attack can cause movement of uric acid stored elsewhere in the body, which can make the gout attack worse.

Long-term medication treatment depends on how high your uric acid levels are and how likely other gout attacks are. In general, the higher the uric acid levels and the more frequent the attacks, the more likely it is that long-term medication treatment will help.

During a gout attack

You may already be taking a medication to lower uric acid levels in the blood at the time of an attack. If so, you should continue taking your medication, even during an attack.

If you have been prescribed a medication to lower uric acid levels (probenecid or allopurinol) and have not been taking the medication, it is more likely that another gout attack will occur. Do not start taking the medication during an attack. Medications that control the uric acid levels in your blood can also make the uric acids stored elsewhere in the body move into your bloodstream. Starting these medications while you are having a gout attack can make your attack much worse.

Medication Choices

Medication treatment for gout usually involves some combination of:

• Short-term treatment, using medications that relieve pain and reduce inflammation during an acute attack or prevent a recurrence of an acute attack. These medications may include:
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), except for aspirin, which should never be used to relieve pain during a gout attack. Aspirin may abruptly change uric acid levels in the blood and may make the attack worse.
• Colchicine, which may also be used for long-term treatment.
• Corticosteroids, which may be given in pills or by a shot for cases of gout that do not respond to NSAIDs or colchicines. They may also be given to people who cannot take NSAIDs for other reasons, such as those with chronic kidney failure, heart failure, gastrointestinal bleeding or those using a blood-thinner, such as warfarin.
• Long-term treatment, using medications to lower uric acid levels in the blood, which can reduce the frequency and severity of gout attacks in the future. This may include:
• Uricosuric agents to increase elimination of uric acid by the kidneys.
• Allopurinol to decrease production of uric acid by the body.
• Colchicine to prevent flare-ups during the first months that you are taking uric acid-lowering medications.

What To Think About

• Relief from symptoms in a gout attack often occurs within 24 hours if treatment is started immediately.
• During a gout attack, your health professional will prescribe a maximum daily dose of one or more medications used for short-term treatment to stop the attack quickly. Doses are then reduced as the symptoms go away.
• NSAIDs other than aspirin are used most often to treat a gout attack.
• Because all medications that lower uric acid levels in the blood have associated risks, an accurate diagnosis of gout is necessary before they are used.
• Aspirin should never be used to relieve pain during a gout attack because it slows the elimination of uric acid and can raise uric acid levels further.
• Gout attacks in older people can take longer to go away.

Cure Gout by Eating the Right Foods and Supplements

Gout is a very painful form of arthritis caused by too much uric acid buildup in the body. Gout can cause a painful swelling in your joints, particularly and especially the big toe. The big toe appears to be a favorite target of gout. Most people experience an outbreak of gout when they are awakened by a large, red swollen toe. You can have large amounts of uric acid in the blood and never experience an outbreak.

So how can we cure gout, or how can we minimize gout's symptoms? Let's start with the basic cause, uric acid. How can we lower the amount of uric acid in the body? We can do this two ways. The first way is to make sure we don't ingest foods that will raise our level of uric acid (high level purines). The second way is to allow the body to excrete the excess uric acid, or somehow stimulate the removal of uric acid from the body. Let's look a bit at foods.

Can the wrong foods cause gout? The simple answer is that certain foods will elevate the uric acid content in your blood which can bring on an attack. Foods that contain high levels of purines should be avoided. Surprisingly, foods that are high in purines come from all food groups. Even some vegetables are high in purines. Certain meats are high in purines. Examples include liver, kidneys, and sweetbreads. Seafood that contains high levels of purines include shellfish. Lobsters, shrimp, sardines and anchovies are high in purines and should be avoided. Vegetables that have high levels of purines include asparagus, legumes, beans and peanuts, cauliflower and spinach. Another thing to avoid is drinking alcohol, particularly beer. Beer is high in purines and should be consumed in moderation if at all.

We may not be able to cure gout, but as we've already seen, we can alleviate the symptoms by reducing the uric acid level in the body. To recap, we should eat foods low in purines, refrain from consuming alcohol, drink lots of water, and take Vitamin C and blueberry and/or cherry extracts. On our website, we go into more detail about gout cures and treatments and causes.

Foods That Cause Gout

The foods that cause gout are some of our favorites. Gout can also be controlled through dietary changes. When someone with poor kidney health goes on a high protein diet, uric acid crystals can form in joints and kidneys – called gout – and in other parts of the body – called acidosis. The symptoms of gout come and go. The most famous victim of gout is King Henry VIII(1491-1547). Gout has these unmistakable symptoms: Sudden, intense pain, beginning in the big toe, ankle, heel, or instep. Gout is a form of arthritis and it is triggered by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. However, as a gout sufferer it is vitally important to keep your fluid intake up. The main cause of gout is the accumulation and deposition of uric crystals at the level of the joints and adjacent soft tissues. It is important to note that that gout diets alone can't overcome the disease completely. Thus, the intake of sweet cherries can also ease recurrent gout pain. Exercise is the fifth way to lower risk of gout attacks. If no treatment is administered within the first 12 hours, combating gout becomes near to impossible. A gout diet should completely exclude organ meats (heart, liver, kidneys), and seafood (shrimps, mussels), as they are very rich in purines. Unfermented grape juice and honey is an old folk remedy that many claim can reduce the swelling and pain associated with gout. Middle-aged males are the most prevalent victims of gout and is hereditary in nature. There are people with higher levels of uric acid in their body due to certain medicines they are consuming or certain physical conditionsSome MedicinesListed are some drugs, which might lead to hyperuricemia since they reduce the body"s ability to remove uric acid:Diuretics - taken to eliminate excess fluid from the bodySalicvlates - an anti-inflammatory drugs made from salicylic acidNiacin - also known as nicotinic acidCyclosporine - an immunosuppressantLevodopa - taken to treat Parkinson"s diseaseIf you wish to have more information on Gout Causes and the Different Kinds of Gout Treatment, please visit gout. There are a number of risk factors that are related to the development of hyperuricemia and gout:Gender and age are related to the risk of developing gout; it is found to be more common in men than in women and more common in adults than in children. Crystal deposits can cause also a condition known as false gout but in this case the composition of crystals is calcium phosphate dehydrate and not uric acid. Now that you know the role weight plays in gout risk, it's time to take a look at the right way of losing weight to prevent gout, and the wrong way. Experts believe that the anthocyanins found in low purine juice are what relieves the symptoms of gout as the substance lowers urate levels in the blood. If you are overweight, it is imperative that you know there is a ideal method to utilise when it comes to shedding pounds for gout prevention. There are a number of ways to treat gout, but if you want to avoid medication then why not try these gout pain natural remedies. Dark berries, such as cherries, blueberries, strawberries and cranberries have been shown to contain a chemical that helps the body process and get rid of uric acid and should be a part of a diet for gout. Medical TreatmentThere are many medications usually prescribed for gout treatment. Gout is caused by deposits of uric acid crystals in the joint. Although there are different medications to treat gout, there are also different non-drug treatments such as tissue salts which can provide relief. What causes gout is very simply an over abundance of uric acid. People who are at risk of developing gout are advised to limit the intake of meats such as pork, beef, lamb and duck. Recent findings have revealed the fact that low-fat dairy products have an important role in both preventing and overcoming the undesirable effects of gout. Keeping a cold compress pack in the freezer makes this an easy task when gout strikes. Avoiding alcohol (especially beer) and the refined sugars, sucrose and fructose will also help with gout. If is vital that gout patients understand their situation and seek help to prevent further occurrences of gout attacks, or at least to lessen the severity of the attacks such that reduced pain is experienced.

Gout Remedies Purple thoroughwort, also called Joe - Pye Weed is another of the gout remedies that some say helps in treating gout; it flushes uric acid quickly out of the body, but extended use can be detrimental to the kidneys. Gout remedies begin with cutting excessive purines out of the diet. A diet that is part of one of the most effective gout remedies should rely on complex carbohydrates for a majority of calories, and animal fats should be heavily restricted.

Gout Symptoms Cherry juice is not a drug and therefore has not been submitted to the clinical trials that medications have, however, many gout sufferers have found relief from their gout symptoms while drinking or taking cherry juice or extract. Cherry Juice1950 was the year that cherries were discovered to bring relief from gout symptoms. The second way of combating gout symptoms is drinking water. It is these sharp, rough edged crystals that cause gout symptoms; a hot, red, swollen, stiff and very painful joint. The fourth way to lower gout symptoms is to cut out the alcohol. The truth of the matter is that if a person is overweight it is almost certain to exacerbate gout symptoms due to the waste products that are broken down into uric acid.

Gout Diets It is important to note that that gout diets alone can't overcome the disease completely. To prevent gout, it is helpful to know the foods that cause gout.

The Symptoms Of Gout

Gout is one of the most controllable diseases and should be treated as a serious health problem by anyone exhibiting the symptoms of gout. Uric acid is normally passed from the body by the urine. Sometimes, however, the body makes more uric acid than the kidneys can deal with. When this occurs, gout may develop.

Gout can cause a great deal of pain as it causes the uric acid to accumulate in areas of the body in which blood flow may not be as great as in other parts of the body. The joints are such a place and that is why the pain of gout manifests itself in the joints. This is a disabling disease that affects many people and it is a disease that can be controlled in many cases. We are all liable to develop gout at any time because the body makes about as much uric acid as can be dealt with at any given time. Many times, gout develops as a result of outside interference such as overeating or overdrinking. Infections can trigger gout. Since we can or should be able to control eating and drinking, we can control gout.

The main symptom of gout is severe pain in the joints. The elbows and knees are a typical location for gout to develop as are the knuckles of the hands and the big toe. Most of the time, a person has no warning of the gout attack. Some people claim to notice small twinges of pain that serve as a warning. The pain may develop in just a few hours and can leave a victim with swollen and tender joints. A weak fever of 101degrees of less may be experienced. Most initial attacks of gout affect only one joint and may not attack again for years. In any case, let your doctor know and he can not only track the disease, but prescibe some painkiller for you. You should not use aspirin as it slows down the excretion of uric acid and thus could prolong or worsen the gout attack.

Learn to controll your drinking and overeating habits. These can lead to further attacks. Such foods as red meat or sardines can be a contributor to the symptoms of gout.

CAUSES OF GOUT

An ancient disease, gout is a chronic type of inflammatory arthritis that causes immediate attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling in some joints. Usually, the joints in the big toe are affected, but gout can also affect the instep, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers and elbows.

Once believed to be the result of gluttony, gout is now known to affect people from all walks of life and often the disease is inherited. Less than one in ten women will develop gout. About 500,000 people have gout in the United States, with most being men between the ages of 30 and 60. Gout accounts for about 5 percent of all cases of arthritis.

Gout is caused when there is over production of uric acid in normal purine metabolism in the body. Genetics can play a role in who develops gout. It can also occur as a complication of other conditions. Some people inherit the inability to process uric acid and lose it in the urine. High blood levels of uric acid in turn causes sodium monourate crystals to collect in the joint fluid and joint coverings leading to gout, a painful stiff swollen joint.

There are many reasons why an episode of gout will appear, including drinking too much alcohol or eating certain kinds of food rich in purines such as seafood, beans, sweetbreads, gravies and anchovies.

Other potential triggers of gout include:

• Surgery
• Stress
• Crash diets
• Sudden, severe illness
• Chemotherapy
• Joint injury
• High blood pressure
• Excessive exercise.