There are many different potential triggers for gout that you should be aware of if you suffer from the condition. One of the potential triggers that we've been asked about recently is sleep apnea. It may seem as though these two conditions are completely unrelated, but in reality, they are connected. The connection was first noticed when sleep apnea patients received treatment for their disorder and they noticed their gout symptoms simultaneously improved.
The reason for this link is believed to be the reduction in blood oxygen during apnea episodes, causing cell disintegration in the body and the generation of uric acid in the bloodstream. The cause of gout is, after all, the presence of uric acid crystals in the joints. Furthermore, during apnea there is an increase in the carbon dioxide percentage within the blood, making the blood's acidity level higher and increasing the risk of uric acid precipitation as monosodium urate. This can collect in the joints and can even lead to an increased risk of developing kidney stones.
This effect is very similar to what happens within the cells when excess alcohol is consumed. And it should be noted that drinking alcohol can cause sleep apnea to become more pronounced. Therefore, gout sufferers with sleep apnea have two major reasons to avoid drinking alcohol.
Other links between sleep apnea and gout include show up in the fact that not only are primary gout sufferers demographically the same as the primary sleep apnea sufferers (middle-aged, overweight men), but sleep apnea and gout are also both much more common among women who have been through menopause. Also, both gout and sleep apnea are associated with people who have a larger neck circumference.
Most notably, though, is that gout attacks are the most common while asleep, indicating that sleep has an impact on gout attacks and sleep disturbances and conditions may also influence the causes of gout attacks.
Until recently, gout and sleep apnea have been treated separately. However, many sleep apnea patients who implement treatments for that condition find that their gout improves at the same time.
The treatments for sleep apnea include preventative actions, such as avoiding sleeping on one's back. When sleeping on the back, the airway can become constricted and is more likely to close, causing the oxygen levels in the blood to be lower than in other sleeping positions. Therefore, changing the way you sleep can help to prevent gout attacks simply by increasing the overall blood oxygen level. Other sleep apnea treatments can include a pressurized CPAP mask or surgery.
No matter the final remedy, improvements to a patients sleep apnea problem ensures that blood oxygen levels remain high, minimizing uric acid and monosodium urate precipitation and therefore gout flare ups.
So, if you're suffering from gout, you may want to check to make sure that you are not also suffering from sleep apnea, as it may be one of the causes of gout aggravations in your body. Then you will be able to look into both sleep apnea treatments and remedies for the gout itself. Speak to your physician about undergoing a sleep study to determine if you have sleep apnea or not.
If you've suffered from a gout attack or two now is the time to take action to stop the attacks in their tracks and discover effective preventative steps before your uric acid levels get out of hand.
In order to learn how to prevent this affection you need to understand its causes. In most of the cases, gout attacks appear at people who have hyperuricemia. This conditions occurs if the level of uric acid inside the blood is too high above the normal limit. Normally the kidneys are responsible with the elimination of the uric acid from the body, but sometimes there's too much of it and they can't get rid of all of it. If a patient is also suffering from kidney disease then the risks og gout drastically increase, because the uric acid levels will certainly raise if the kidneys aren't functioning properly.
If there's too much uric acid in the blood for a long time, then it will start to crystallize and turn into a hard crust. This first happens in the big toe's joint, and it the uric acid is not eliminated soon, other joints will also be affected.
But if the kidneys are working properly, what can cause too much uric acid for them to handle?
Well there are some factors that seriously increase the levels of uric acid. The most important one and that can cause these levels to raise very much are foods that contain purines. Purines are the substance from which uric acid results after digestion, so eating a lot of purine-rich foods will directly affect the uric acid levels These foods are shellfish and red meat.
The second product that raises the acid level is alcohol. Someone who drinks a lot has a high risk of a gout attack.
There are a few other causes of gout. Among these, the most common are obesity and high blood pressure.
And finally, the last thing that can cause gout is your genetic legacy. Although this doesn't appear many times, some people inherit a malfunction in an enzyme from the body and this causes too much uric acid in the blood.
If you want to prevent gout and gout attacks you have to lower the quantity of uric acid from your body. You can do this by loosing weight if you have a few extra pounds, by cutting down the alcohol you drink, and most important by changing your diet. A diet change is needed both if you want to prevent and if you want to treat gout, so start cutting down the purine-rich food if you feel that you're in danger.
Both Lisa Mcdowell & Groshan Fabiola are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lisa Mcdowell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health Care, Depression Cure and Medical Condition. Grab your free copy of Lisa McDowell's brand new Gout Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you discover more about the different