How To Treat Gout
This article was medically reviewed by Siddharth Tambar, MD. Dr. Siddharth Tambar, MD is a board certified rheumatologist at Chicago Arthritis and Regenerative Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. With over 19 years of experience, Dr. Tambar specializes in Regenerative Medicine and Rheumatology, with a focus on Platelet rich plasma and Bone marrow derived stem cell treatments for arthritis, tendinitis, injuries, and back pain. Dr. Tambar holds a BA in Economics from State University of New York at Buffalo. He earned his MD from State University of New York at Syracuse. He completed his Internship, Residency in Internal Medicine, and his Rheumatology Fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr Tambar is board certified in both rheumatology and internal medicine. He also holds Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Diagnostic and Interventional certifications from the American College of Rheumatology and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 172,676 times.
What Can Increase Your Risk
A high level of uric acid in the blood is the main factor that increases your risk of developing gout. However, it’s still uncertain why some people with a high level of uric acid in the blood develop gout, while others with an equally high level don’t.
Other factors that may increase your risk of developing gout are outlined below.
What Happens At Your Appointment
The GP may ask about your diet and if you drink alcohol.
They may refer you to see a specialist and arrange a blood test and scan. Sometimes a thin needle is used to take a sample of fluid from inside the affected joint, to test it.
The blood test will find out how much of a chemical called uric acid there is in your blood.
Having too much uric acid in your blood can lead to crystals forming around your joints, which causes pain.
Don’t Miss: Gout And Tofu
What About Prp Injections For Gout
PRP injections for gout are only reserved for special cases. Just like cortisone injections, PRP injections are anti-inflammatory and will have a beneficial effect. This effect is probably better if the injected joint has underlying degenerative changes such as osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, the effect of PRP is less than cortisone. Overall, we would only consider PRP injection for gout if the risks of a cortisone injection are too great.
Managing Symptoms And The Underlying Triggers
Gout is a form of arthritis caused by the buildup and crystallization of uric acid in a joint. Depending on the severity of an attack, treatment may involve over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate pain, as well as behavioral modifications to reduce the frequency of attacks. Chronic attacks may require prescription medications to help reduce uric acid levels in the blood.
Recommended Reading: Is Onion Good For Gout
How To Handle Your First Gout Attack
After a first attack of gout, its OK to try to stave off another one with dietary changes alone. But if you have another attack, its important to start taking preventive gout medications on a regular basis. Long-term medications for gout include allopurinol and febuxostat, both of which limit uric acid production.
Some patients, says Dr. Fields, treat each attack as a separate event and dont talk to their doctors about doing a preventive approach. He uses the analogy of lighting a book of matches. If you have one match lit, its easy to put out, but if you have the whole book lit, its a lot harder.
Pseudogout Vs Gout: How Can We Tell
Generally, it can be challenging to differentiate between the two. However, there are clues as to whether symptoms are pseudogout or gout.
First, gout usually occurs in younger men in theirs 50s and initially affects one joint at a time usually the toe or ankle. Pseudogout usually affects older people and can affect more than one joint of the knees, wrists, and ankle.
Second, diets high in purines can trigger gout whereas pseudogout is unaffected by diet.
Thirdly, attacks of gout usually last for only days and rarely weeks whereas pseudogout can last up to 3 months.
Finally, tests can give further clues. On ultrasound, uric acid crystals form on top of the cartilage and are often referred to as a double contour sign. In pseudogout, we see calcium in the middle of the articular cartilage. When analysing fluid from joints, uric acid crystals look needle-shaped while calcium crystals are rod-shaped.
Also Check: Onions Bad For Gout
How To Treat Gout Mild Symptoms
Mild forms of gout are easily treated and managed by your primary care physician and at home. During a flare-up, your doctor may recommend non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to bring down the swelling and inflammation of the joint and reduce pain. However, gout flares can also be treated without using medicine.
Whats The Best Way To Take Lab
Your body doesnt typically excrete enough uric acid on its own to minimize the risk of a gout attack. Lab-grade Chanca Piedra is that extra added push for your body to be able to not only flush out uric acid in the kidney and liver, but to also inhibit the formation of uric acid crystals. Chanca Piedra has also been shown to help with inflammation.
To dissolve uric acid crystals or to prevent them from forming altogether:
Keep in mind that each individual is unique and will respond differently to each treatment type. Always discuss any new treatments that you are considering with your physician prior to starting them so he/she can review with you any potential medication interactions and potential side effect concerns.
Don’t Miss: Cherry Juice For Gout Mayo Clinic
Increase Your Fluid Intake
You must consume ample amounts of fluids daily to dilute uric acid and facilitate its excretion through more urine output. Water is your best bet, but you can also supplement your fluid needs through healthy juices and succulent fruits or vegetables.
Avoid alcohol and sweetened beverages such as sodas, which can dehydrate the body due to their strong diuretic effect.
Gout In The Ankle Symptoms & Treatment
The onset of pain in the ankle joint pain is usually at night when the body temperature is lower. Many times it is accompanied by fever and fatigue.
The attack usually lasts for 3 to 10 days when treated properly and in 50% of cases it recurs within a year. If ankle gout is ignored and not treated properly the number of urate crystals increases damaging the joint and soft tissues around it. Eventually, tophi nodules are formed and slowly kidney failure also takes place.
Recommended Reading: How Many Cherries Should I Eat For Gout
Take Your Prescription Drugs
If you’ve had a gout attack before, your physician may have prescribed drugs to treat attacks. This may be your first line of defense or you may decide to use them only when NSAIDs fail to relieve your pain.
Prescription medications to treat gout include:
- Prednisolone oral tablets, which has been shown to work as well as NSAIDs and often doesnt cause the same stomach upset. Prednisolone is a type of corticosteroid and does carry other potential side effects, particularly if it is taken for longer than the recommended 5 days.4
- Colchicine, which has been shown effective in reducing pain and inflammation if taken in the first 24 hours of an attack. Always follow your physicians instructions regarding dosing to decrease your risk for potential complications and side effects.
Opioid painkillers, such as codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, are not recommended to treat the pain caused by gout.
See Pain Medications for Arthritis Pain Relief
Gout Frequently Flares In Your Knee But You May Not Always Know That Your Knee Pain Is Due To Gout Heres How To Tell Since Prompt Treatment Can Reduce Your Risk Of Complications
Knee pain can be a common symptom of several types of arthritis, as well as many other conditions or injuries. If your knee stiffness is accompanied by a burning pain and is warm to touch, you may have a gout flare in the knee.
Though gout is most often associated with the big toe, gout tends to flare in areas that already have arthritis, says Robert Keenan, MD, a rheumatologist with Articularis Healthcare in Summerville, South Carolina. Although gout can strike in many different joints, as a general rule, gout works its way up the body. If its not treated, it works its way up from the big toe, through the ankle, to the knee, and then to the lower spine and so on.
Gout can affect both knees, but typically is felt more strongly in one knee say, where you may have arthritis wear-and-tear to begin with.
Learn more about what causes gout in the knee, as well as ways to treat the pain and prevent it in the future.
You May Like: Almond Milk And Gout
What Are The Symptoms Of Gout
An episode of gout is called a gout attack. Gout attacks are very painful and can happen quite suddenly, often overnight. During a gout attack, symptoms in the affected joint may include:
- Intense pain.
- Tenderness, even to light touch, such as from a bedsheet.
- Warmth, or a feeling like the joint is on fire.
- How long does a gout attack last?
A gout attack can last a week or two. Between gout attacks, you may have no symptoms at all.
Home Remedies And Lifestyle
Gout symptoms are caused by the excessive accumulation of uric acid, a condition known as hyperuricemia. Over time, the build-up can lead to the formation of uric acid crystals in and around a joint, triggering severe and protracted bouts of pain and inflammation.
As such, gout treatment is focused on two things: the reduction of uric acid and the alleviation of gout pain.
Don’t Miss: Almonds And Gout
The Role Of Physical Activity In Prevention Of Gout
Along with diet, physical activity can help with weight loss, and gout has been associated with being overweight.7 in patients with well-established gout, especially if X-rays have demonstrated joint damage in the foot, a low-impact exercise program is reasonable. An exercise program combined with diet in gout can reduce risk for attacks.7 If an attack seems to be coming on in the lower extremity, patients are well-advised to try to get off their feet, since impact seems to worsen gout attacks. Clues to an attack of gout coming on include local swelling, heat, redness, and tenderness in a joint, especially in the foot, ankle, or knee. Some patients have fever and chills as the first warning that an attack of gout is coming on.
What Is Gout In The Foot
Gout is another form of arthritis where the joints get inflamed and started swelling. In most gout cases, it generally affects the feet and big toe, but it can affect fingertips, knee joint, and elbow in other types of gout.
Gout pain attack comes without any notification and can occur repeatedly. It damages the tissue slowly in the affected region.
Both men and women can experience gout pain, who overindulge food that increases the bloods uric acid level.
Recommended Reading: Side Effects Of Allopurinol And Alcohol
What Are The Main Causes Of Gout
Gout is the outcome of an unplanned diet that increases the uric acid level. It started with simple symptoms like mild pain or redness in the joint but turn complex in no time.
Apart from diet, there are lots of factors that play a vital part in spreads out gouts. Let us check the cause:
- Intake of food like red meat, selfish, etc.
- To consume too much alcohol.
- If anyone develops a joint injury.
- If anyone is suffering from kidney diseases or thyroid and could not eliminate the uric acid from the body properly.
- Not drinking sufficient water.
Additional Tips For Treating Gout Naturally
Studies show that many of the dietary items we consume lead to gout as well as other health problems. Changing your diet and lifestyle may be the easy solution to beating gout. One of the first things to do is eliminate certain foods and beverages from your diet to beat gout.
1. Eliminate or reduce sugar intake
As many studies are now illustrating, gout is common in people with excessive sugar intake, especially high fructose corn syrup Its wise to read the labels of all your food and drinks. If you find HFCS then eliminate that from your diet. In addition, look for sugar added under the guise of other common names for sugar look for cose at the end of words and these are probably types of sugar you dont want to be consuming.
2. Eliminate grains
Grains in the body are converted to sugars so again you want to limit or avoid grains altogether. They are also very inflammatory to your body.
3. Limit alcohol consumption
Again, alcohol becomes sugar once ingested so eliminate this completely unless you have a healthy body already. Any substance that will be converted to one or another type of sugar by the body should be avoided at all costs. In order to get your uric acid levels down you must consistently avoid sugar in your diet.
4. Eliminate soda and diet soda
5. Consume cherries and strawberries daily
6. Exercise
If you want to learn more natural remedies and natural cures, subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Read Also: Are Onions High In Purines
The Role Of Diet In Gout Prevention
Dietary control may be sufficient in a patient with mildly elevated uric acid, for example, 7.0 mg/dL
For those with a higher level, for example, 10.0 mg/dL, diet alone will not usually prevent gout. For the latter, even a very strict diet only reduces the blood uric acid by about 1 mg/dL- not enough, in general, to keep uric acid from precipitating in the joints. The cutoff where patients with gout seem to dramatically reduce their number of attacks is when their uric acid level is taken below 6.0 mg/dL.4
Treatment For Ankle Gout:
Also Check: Is Tofu Good For Gout
What To Do During An Attack
You should:
- take any medication you’ve been prescribed as early as possible after you notice an attack this should start to have an effect within two or three days
- rest and raise the limb
- avoid knocking or damaging the affected joint
- keep the joint cool remove surrounding clothing and apply an ice pack, such as a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel
- ensure you’re well hydrated
Apply the ice pack to your joint for around 20 minutes. Don’t apply ice directly to your skin and don’t apply it for more than 20 minutes at a time because this could damage the skin.
If necessary, you can keep reapplying an ice pack to your skin during an attack, but you should wait until your skin has returned to a normal temperature first.
The Four Stages Of Gout
Gout is best understood by seeing it as having four phases or stages :
Stage 1: High uric acid
Elevated uric acid without gout or kidney stone, this stage has no symptoms and is generally not treated.
Stage 2: Acute flares
This stage is marked by acute gout attacks causing pain and inflammation in one or more joints.
Stage 3: Intercritical periods
These are periods of time between acute attacks, during which a person feels normal but is at risk for recurrence of acute attacks.
Stage 4: Advanced gout
This is a stage of chronic gouty arthritis, in which there are lumps of uric acid, or tophi , frequent attacks of acute gout, and often a degree of pain even between attacks .
Figure 1: Stages of Gout
Figure 2: Illustration of Toe Joint with Gouty Tophus. normal toe joint Urate crystals, shown in white, at the “bunion joint,” represent a gouty tophus.)
Figure 3: Progression of Gout
Read Also: Are Almonds Good For Gout
How To Get Rid Of Gout Pain Fast Naturally:
Well i am going to share my recent real life experience for lowering and curing gout pain, hope that it will help many of those who are tired of using medications and medical physicians prescriptions.
My elder brother have faced several gout attacks several times in the last 3 years, which restricted him from walking during the gout attacks.
| Natural Gout Pain Relief : Tart Cherry Extract |
Every time with the gout attack his big-toe used to swell and stiff restraining him from walking causing severe pain, lasting for one to two weeks full of pain.
It was September 2nd 2016 when i heard my brother complaining about the gout pain and the effect-less gout medication, which forced me to search over the internet for alternate treatment of gout pain and by the grace of God i found the best and effective natural home remedy for treating and preventing gout flare ups.
Items you will need:
1, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar.
2, Raw Unfiltered Honey.
Although sugar and artificial sweeteners should be avoided specially during gout attacks, a little natural raw honey can do wonders when mixed with ACV or cinnamon in form of concoction. There are numerous health benefits of raw honey and a complete natural vitamin supplement. There are studieswhich concludes the lowering effects of honey+cinnamon concoction, and honey+ACV concoctions.
3, 1 Organic Lemon Juice.
4, 1 Glass of Water.