Gout is an extremely painful disease and can cause immense discomfort apart from complications like kidney stones and the like. Unfortunately, there is no established cure for gout. The best means of thwarting gout attacks is prevention. These insidious attacks occur when you will be least expecting it, sometimes while you are asleep.
Purine is a normal constituent of the human diet. It is metabolized within the body to produce uric acid, which then reacts with the sodium ions present in the system to give mono-sodium urate (MSU). The production of MSU rises with the internal pH of the body. At the biological pH, the MSU exists in the form of insoluble crystals that deposit on the joints of the body. The bodys defense mechanism recognizes these accumulated crystals as foreign invasions and combats them with white blood cells called neutrophils. As a result of this immunologic reaction, sudden inflammation and rubor of the skin develops, along with heat production and tenderness of the affected regions. This is accompanied by excruciating pain as the bodys defense mechanism fights the invading MSU crystals. The symptoms include malaise, fever, chills, increased heart rate, and high blood pressure.
The most commonly afflicted areas of gout include the big toes and the joints in feet, ankles, knees, hands, wrists, arms, elbows, and bursas, the ligaments and tendons around these joints; and, in extreme cases, shoulders, necks, hips and spine.
Gout attacks typically set in between midnight and 2 a.m. and are more frequent during the spring. The initial attacks may wane automatically within a few days even without treatment, as the crystals become encrusted by certain proteins that prevent their recognition by the immune system as non-self particles. However, gout may resurface even after years, and in due course of time the frequency of the attacks gradually increases. Ultimately, the problem becomes a persistent one and in chronic cases, can cause permanent distortion of the affected joints.
Medications should be taken within a short while of the onset; otherwise the attack may get beyond control. If no treatment is administered within the first 12 hours, combating gout becomes near to impossible. If you are a frequent sufferer, do remember to carry necessary medicines wit you wherever you go, even on business or pleasure trips. Do take sufficient rest until the attack completely subsides, overuse of the strained joints may cause irreparable damage.
Gouty arthritis is a problem of joint and bones that usually a severe painful attack when moving. The common site of the attack is toe but other joints can be affected are ankles, wrists, fingers, elbow and knee. Acute gout attack usually in one joint at a time and pain take time in hour to day. The patients can develop fever together with gout.
Who is affected by gout?
Prevalence estimates in the age over 35 years old. Usually attacks in male and menopause in women. The risk factors for developing gout are overweight, heavy alcohol intake, some medicines that can increase blood uric acid such as low dose of aspirin, cyclosporine, and ethambutol. Other factor is renal insufficiency that cause inhibition of tubular urate secretion and increase uric acid in blood.
The cause of gout
Gout cause by an overproduction of uric acid: defined as > 800 mg uric acid/day on normal diet and under excretion of uric acid. The excess uric crystal precipitate under the skin, which is known as tophi, (or in the urinary tract as kidney stones) and it cause joint inflammation.
The signs and symptoms of gout
The common symptoms of gout are inflammation, reddish discoloration, warmth, tenderness, and swelling in the joint of the first toe. When touching or walking it is extremely painful. Gout attacks are characterized by a rapid onset time in only 1-2 joints.
Diagnosis
The way to diagnose gout is examine for the uric acid crystal of joint fluid and view the result with polarization microscope. Other common way is x-ray. This is helpful to show tophi and bone damaged. The result can analyze how long the patients have gout.
How is gout treatment?
Acute attacks of gout: The goal is to relieve pain and inflammation by the colchicine and pain killer medicines.
Long term control: Prevent recurrence, progression to chronic gouty arthritis and organ damage by blocking production and promote the excretion of uric acid by the medicines which is know as allopurinal and probenecid.
Prevention
Avoid the risk factors of gout especially some foods and drinks such as beer and wine, red meat, shellfish, oysters, sea eggs, mussel, fried food and poultry. The important way to avoid gout is control the body weight and exercise everyday. Be careful the position during lift the heavy weight by using the right position and change the body movement after long standing or sitting.
Conclusion
The common pain of joints in adult is gouty arthritis. If you have extremely pain when moving and other signs and symptoms of gout, you should go to see the physician and start the medication. However, the best way is prevention by avoid gout risk factors and takes care your health.
Both Arturo R & Navinva Ati 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.