Monday, March 25, 2024

What Medicine To Treat Gout

Home Remedies For Long

Medication for Gout

The American College of Rheumatology recommends a couple of lifestyle modifications for preventing future attacks of gout:

1) Lose weight if you need to. Being overweight can increase uric acid levels as well as put pressure on the joints.

2) Follow a low-purine diet. Another effective way to reduce uric acid levels is to follow a low-purine diet. Purines are organic compounds that break down into uric acid. Following a low-purine diet means avoiding the big four alcohol, shellfish, red meat, and high fructose corn syrup.

Limiting these foods is also beneficial for heart health and people with gout are at higher risk for heart disease.

But dont go overboard with dietary changes to relieve gout pain though, advises Dr. Fields. You can find lists of thousands of different foods youre not supposed to have if you have gout. Those recommendations are impossible to follow and can make you crazy.

Medicines That Block Uric Acid Production

  • How they work: These medications limit the amount of uric acid your body makes.
  • Risks: Acute attacks or ‘flares’
  • Doctors sometimes delay the start of these medications for at least a week after the acute gout has settled because they may actually make a gout attack last longer, or trigger acute attacks at the start of treatment.
  • To reduce the risk of such acute flares of gout your doctor may prescribe a small dose of colchicine, or an NSAID, for 3-6 months after starting treatment with allopurinol or febuxostat.

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

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How Much Will I Take

For gout

The usual dose is 1 tablet , taken 2 to 4 times a day.

You’ll usually take colchicine for just a few days. Your doctor will tell you how long to take it for.

For familial Mediterranean fever

Doses can vary between 1 and 4 tablets , taken once a day.

Your doctor will probably recommend taking this medicine long-term.

Acute Gout Flares: What Else You Can Do

Gout Home Remedies: What Works and What Doesn

While your prescription gout medication should quickly treat your joint pain, swelling and redness, there are things you can do on your own in addition to taking your medicine:

Ice it. Treat your swollen joint with topical ice for a short period of time if you need a little extra relief. Ice can ease pain and swelling. Wrap ice or an ice pack in a soft towel or cloth before placing it on your skin. Dont place ice directly onto your joint, even if its inside a plastic bag.

Elevate it. If your big toe or foot is affected, prop it up on pillows while you rest on the sofa. Keep your joint elevated above the level of your heart for the best effect.

Give it a rest. Its OK to take it easy for a day or two while your symptoms are at their worst. Rest if you can. Try not to use your affected joint until your medications can reduce the inflammation. Gout flares often get worse if you try to ignore them and stress your affected joint.

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How Does A Doctor Diagnose Gout

If you have sudden or severe pain in a joint, you should talk to your primary care provider . Your PCP may send you to a rheumatologist, a doctor who specializes in gout and other kinds of arthritis.

Healthcare providers consider several things when confirming gout:

  • Symptoms: The provider will ask you to describe your symptoms, how often they happen and how long they last.
  • Physical examination: Your provider will examine the affected joint to look for swelling, redness and warmth.
  • Blood work: A test can measure the amount of uric acid in your blood.
  • Imaging tests: You may have pictures taken of the affected joint with X-rays, an ultrasound or MRI.
  • Aspiration: The provider may use a needle to pull fluid from the joint. Using a microscope, a team member can look for uric acid crystals or a different problem .

Home Remedies For Gout Management

Medication is the most effective way to treat gout symptoms, but there are a number of steps you can take at home to reduce your risk of future attacks.

Actions that may help prevent gout include:

Limiting alcoholic beverages and sugar-sweetened drinks These beverages, when consumed in excess, raise your risk of a gout flare-up.

Maintaining a healthy body weight People who are overweight or obese often have higher levels of uric acid in the blood.

Losing weight may help lower your uric acid levels and reduce your risk of future gout attacks.

How much weight should you lose? In October 2017, a review of studies published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases suggested that a weight loss of about eight pounds or more led to long-term reductions in uric acid levels and gout attacks in overweight or obese people.

Avoiding foods that trigger gout attacks Red meat, organ meats, and certain types of seafood contain high levels of a substance called purine, which may trigger gout attacks in some people.

Supplementing with vitamin C Theres some evidence that vitamin C can help lower uric acid levels, but its not clear whether vitamin C can also help relieve gout symptoms.

A small study published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism showed that supplementing with 500 milligrams of vitamin C for eight weeks did not significantly lower uric acid levels in patients with gout.

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What Are Gout Treatments And Home Remedies

When gout is mild, infrequent, and uncomplicated, it can be treated with diet and lifestyle changes. However, studies have shown that even the most rigorous diet does not lower the serum uric acid enough to control severe gout, and therefore medications are generally necessary. When attacks are frequent, uric acid kidney stones have occurred, tophi are present, or there is evidence of joint damage from gout attacks, medications are typically used to lower the uric acid blood level.

Medications for the treatment of gout generally fall into one of three categories: uric-acid-lowering medications, prophylactic medications , and rescue medications to provide immediate relief from gout pain.

Urate-lowering medications are the primary treatment for gout. These medications decrease the total amount of uric acid in the body and lower the serum uric acid level. For most patients, the goal of uric-acid-lowering medication is to achieve a serum uric acid level of less than 6 mg/dl. These medications also are effective treatments to decrease the size of tophi, with the ultimate goal of eradicating them. Uric-acid-lowering medications include allopurinol , , probenecid, and pegloticase .

Gout home remedies

Home remedies for an acute gout attack include drinking plenty of water. Over-the-counter NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium , can be used when there are no contra-indications, such as decreased kidney function or stomach ulcers.

What To Do During An Attack

Medicine For Gout – Home Remedy To Stop Gout Attacks

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.

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Cautions With Other Medicines

Some medicines and allopurinol can interfere with each other and increase the chances of you having side effects.

Tell a doctor or pharmacist if you’re taking any of these medicines before you start taking allopurinol:

If you take aluminium hydroxide , leave a 3 hour gap between the aluminium hydroxide and your allopurinol dose.

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.

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How Do Doctors Diagnose Gout

Joint aspiration

  • This is the most important diagnostic test. It is the ultimate method of being certain of a diagnosis of gouty arthritis, as opposed to other causes such as an infection in the joint.
  • A needle is inserted into the joint to withdraw a sample of fluid for testing.
  • The fluid is examined under a microscope to see if there are gout crystals or signs of a bacterial infection present. Sometimes other crystals can be found in the joint fluid, such as calcium pyrophosphate, which is caused by an entirely different condition called pseudogout .
  • Gouty arthritis is sometimes diagnosed based on the typical clinical presentation without a joint aspiration.

Blood tests

  • A doctor may obtain a blood sample to look at cell counts, uric acid levels, kidney function, etc.
  • Unfortunately, the level of uric acid in the blood cannot be reliably used to make a diagnosis of gout. It is normal in approximately 10% of people during an acute attack of gouty arthritis. Moreover, uric acid levels are elevated in 5%-8% of the general population, so the presence of an elevated level does not necessarily mean that gout is the cause of an inflamed joint. Interestingly, the uric acid is typically lowered during a flare of inflammatory gouty arthritis. Therefore, the optimal time to measure the uric acid is after a flare has resolved when acute inflammation is not present.

Radiographs

What Increases Your Chances For Gout

9 Home Remedies for Gout

The following make it more likely that you will develop hyperuricemia, which causes gout:

  • Being male
  • Using certain medications, such as diuretics .
  • Drinking alcohol. The risk of gout is greater as alcohol intake goes up.
  • Eating or drinking food and drinks high in fructose .
  • Having a diet high in purines, which the body breaks down into uric acid. Purine-rich foods include red meat, organ meat, and some kinds of seafood, such as anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout, and tuna.
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    What Should I Do If I Forget A Dose

    Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. If you are taking colchicine on a regular basis and it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

    However, if you are taking colchicine to treat an attack of gout that happened while you were taking colchicine to prevent gout attacks and you forget to take the second dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. Then wait at least 12 hours before taking your next scheduled dose of colchicine.

    How To Prevent Gout Flare

    In addition to taking specific medications, there are a few things you can do to prevent recurrent gout:

    • Limit your intake of alcoholDiscuss with your doctor the appropriate amount of alcohol, if any, that is safe for you. Studies show that alcohol, especially beer, and sugary drinks link to an increase in gout symptoms, so try to limit consumption of these whenever possible.
    • Maintain a healthy weightConsume healthy meal portions, exercise regularly, and avoid fasting or crash diets.
    • Drink plenty of waterThe guideline is to drink at least eight glasses of water a day and limit your intake of beverages with high fructose levels.
    • Limit your intake of meatEating high-purine foods, such as veal, venison, liver, fish, and scallops can increase your uric acid levels and lead to a gout attack.
    • Eat more low-fat dairy foodsThese can be alternatives to some of the protein youre getting from meat.

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    How Should I Take Uloric

    Take Uloric exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow all directions on your prescription label. Your doctor may occasionally change your dose. Do not use this medicine in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.

    You may take Uloric with or without food. Uloric may be taken with an antacid if needed.

    You may have an increase in gout symptoms when you first start taking Uloric. Your doctor may prescribe other medications for you to use during the first 6 months of treatment.

    You should not stop using febuxostat suddenly. Stopping suddenly may make your condition worse.

    For best results, keep using your medications as directed. Call your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after 6 months, or if they get worse.

    You will need frequent blood tests to check your liver function.

    Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light.

    Read all patient information, medication guides, and instruction sheets provided to you. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.

    What Happens At Your Appointment

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    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.

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    Do Gout Medications Have Any Side Effects

    • Gout medications are well tolerated by most people. However, like other medications, they have potential side effects.
    • Allopurinol is well tolerated by most people, but in some people, it can cause an allergicrash. Very severe rashes rarely can occur after taking allopurinol, and any allergic type rashes that develop while a patient is taking allopurinol are taken seriously.
    • Colchicine can cause signs and symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, and rarely muscle weakness and abnormal blood counts.
    • Probenecid is generally well tolerated but should not be used in patients who have uric acid kidney stones, as it can worsen the kidney stones and potentially harm the kidneys in these patients.

    What Types Of Doctors Treat Gout

    Rheumatologists traditionally have expertise in diagnosing and treating gout, especially complicated situations. Other specialists such as internists, general practitioners, family medicine doctors, and orthopedists can manage straightforward cases of gout. Nephrologists may treat patients with uric-acid-lowering medications such as allopurinol in order to prevent damage to the kidneys, which can occur with elevated uric acid levels .

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    Celery Or Celery Seeds

    Celery is a food traditionally used to treat urinary issues. For gout, extract and seeds of the vegetable have become popular home remedies.

    Experimental use is well-documented, though scientific research is scant. Its thought that celery may reduce inflammation.

    Adequate celery amounts for treating gout arent documented. Try eating celery many times per day, especially raw celery sticks, juice, extract, or seeds.

    If purchasing an extract or supplement, follow label directions closely.

    Lowering Uric Acid Levels

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    Standard urate-lowering medicines are:

    • Allopurinol This is an oral prescription that helps lower serum uric acid levels. This medicine is also known by brand names Lopurin® and Zyloprim®. When started on this drug, your doctor will likely gradually increase the dosage to a standard prescription dose.
    • This is another urate-lowering therapy that can be prescribed under the brand name Uloric®. This medication is taken orally and decreases the bodys production of uric acid. It can be taken by people with mild to moderate kidney or liver disease.

    Some general potential side effects of allopurinol are: changes in taste, diarrhea, indigestion and stomach pain or cramps. For febuxostat, some minor side effects are: changes in appetite, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, hot flush to face or skin, stomach upset or pain. Its important that if they persist or there are questions, call a doctor.

    Though only 1 in 1,000 patient cases, there is a more severe hypersensitivity reaction to allopurinol, with fever or rash that can cover the body and deterioration of liver and kidney function. At-risk patient populations can be screened for a genetic marker that can predict this reaction. To alleviate this hypersensitivity, doctors will start a patient on a low dose with a step-up plan to the optimal medication dose.

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