Treating Gout

Gout is a sudden and very painful form of arthritis. Gout happens mostly in the big toe of men between 40 and 50. Remedies for gout include gout pain relief medication, gout prevention a change in lifestyle and gout diet. Gout is caused when too much uric acid has been accumulating in your blood over a period of many years.

What is gout

Maybe you do know what is gout but you just don’t know that it is called gout: not all gout symptoms occur on your big toe…

Myself it took me quite a lot of doctor visits in different countries to learn that the arthritis in my left index finger that came and went actually was caused by gouty arthritis after 1 doctor examined the fluid taken out of my joint (called "synovial fluid") and discovered the uric acid crystals. Do know that I had injured the affected joint about 20 years ago.

More than 5 million people in the United States live with gout. In Europe it’s called a rich men’s disease… Since I don’t consider myself rich at all, it took me quit a while to find out the painful attacks in my finger where called gout attacks. To make the best out of a bad situation, I share my research about gout, gout symptoms, gout causes and cures of gout on this site.

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men between 40 and 50 and it affects approximately 3 times as many men as women. Myself I got my first gout attack when I was about 42. The number of newly diagnosed gout cases is on the rise.

What is it about gout being a rich men’s disease?

Hippocrates called gouty arthritis “the disease of kings”. Gout was associated with a rich diet of rich people.

One of the cures that help preventing gout is to avoid food rich on purines found mainly in beer and certain meat and fish.

Gout pain

Gout pain is extremely painful, some say it is even more painful than giving birth. Gout pain, also known as gout attacks or gout flares feels like somebody is poking your joints from the inside with a huge needle.

This description describes the cause of gout attacks: needle-like uric acid crystals are deposited in connective tissue and/or in the fluids cushioning your painful joint.

These needle crystals are actually uric acid crystals, a substance produced when the body breaks down purines found in human tissue and many foods we eat.

We will elaborate more about uric acid and food that contain purines on our other pages.

Normally, the kidneys eliminate uric acid from the body in the urine. But when the kidneys don’t manage to do this, uric acid will build up in the blood which is hyperuricemia. At this stage you don’t have uric acid needles yet though!

A gout attack usually starts with a sudden, severe pain in the large joint of the big toe. With me it occurs in my left index. This attack will fade away after 3 to 10 days. According to your gout food and gout diet, the next gout
attack maybe is due for a few months or even a few years.

If gout symptoms are not treated well, gout attacks will become more severe, occur more often, last longer and affect more than one joint. That’s why you need to follow one of the many gout treatments available to keep your gout under control or prevent it from returning.

I would say I keep my fingers crossed never to get a gout attack again, but in my case my gout finger already looks a bit crossed without having to make any effort…

What is severe gout

Severe gout or chronic tophaceous gout is the worst stage of gout causing so much damage to the joints that they will get disabeled. Luckily there are enough remedies for gout to control your gout symptoms in an acceptable manner. Do read more about gout prevention in the 4 gout stages post.

 

Treating gout and home remedies for gout

After popping up some Celebrex pain killers and putting ice on my foot, I stumbled upon lots of other real treatments to battle gout, especially what you need is a gout treatment that prevents future attacks and make life much more enjoyable!

Gout treatments are categorized as:

• medication and gout remedies to deal with acute gout pain
• medication for gout prevention: lowering the uric acid level in your blood or increasing your kidney’s potential to excrete uric acid
• gout diet to reduce your purine intake : avoiding foods that cause gout
• gout diet to increase your excrement of urine acid (or " good gout food")
• homeopathic remedies for gout and home remedies for gout

To learn more about what is gout, gout symptoms and treating gout, please browse around on our site or ask your gout questions.