IAmAprilPhillips.com | Author and Blogger

Have you ever eaten cheese or seafood or drank alcohol or wine, and days later you noticed abnormal painful swelling in your joints? Did the swelling occur again the next time you consumed these foods and drinks? If so, you may have gout. Please read the details below.

What is Gout:

● It is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops when uric acid is formed as the body breaks down purines found in cells and food.
● The increase in uric acid produces crystals in the joints that lead to more pain.
● Not only it’s caused by increased uric acid levels, genetics, obesity, medications used to treat cancer, diuretics, and chronic kidney disease can also trigger a flare-up.
● Itcan be episodic or chronic.
● The disease is more common in men than women, and if left untreated, itwill progressively get worse and become debilitating.
o Known as Chronic Tophaceous Gout, this condition can cause patients to suffer from chronic arthritis, kidney damage, and tophi (big lumps of urate crystals) that form in the joints of the fingers, wrists, toes, ankles, and elbows.
o Patients who have chronic gout will require surgery to remove the crystals that have developed tophi.

Diagnosis

● During a physical assessment, fluid can be removed from the inflamed joint and examined under a microscope for urate crystals.

Treatment

● Gout is treatable.
● NSAIDs, corticosteroids, and colchicine are administered to help reduce inflammation.
● Allopurinol may be prescribed to reduce the production of uric acid and help protect the kidneys.
● The best way to manage the pain to monitor your diet and control your weight.
● If possible, try to eliminate foods that are high in purines to reduce the uric level acids in the blood.
o Examples of food high in purines are anchovies, asparagus, beef kidneys, game meats, liver, seafood, mushrooms, sweet breads, sugary drinks, and alcohol.