Without a doubt, gout causes pain for many

Have you ever felt like a jackhammer was trying to break apart your big toe? Or maybe you’ve felt like you have walked across a bed of hot coals with bare feet.  If you’ve experienced this type of pain, you may have experienced Gout.

Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in your blood.  The excess uric acid forms crystals in the joints of the body which cause them to become inflamed with swelling and tremendous pain.

These flares of gout can come quickly and often begin throughout the night, causing the affected area to become red, swollen, hot and tender.

While 76% of those with gout experience pain in their big toe, gout also affects other areas.  Statistics from gout experts claim that 25% experience gout in a finger, 10% in the wrist, 50% in the ankle or foot, 10% in the elbow, 32% in the knee and 11% claim that they have pain in more than one joint location. 

If you are a child or a young adult, there’s good news. Gout usually doesn’t prey upon you!  Rather, the inflammatory arthritis typically affects men over the age of 40, women who are post-menopausal, and those who have a genetic link of gout in their family.

In addition, people with certain conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and/ or other kidney problems are typically at a higher risk for gout.

Although some people think that diet has a huge influence as to whether or not someone gets gout, that isn’t exactly true.  Instead, certain foods tend to trigger bouts with gout once a person has already been susceptible to getting it. Therefore, diet can be an important aid in managing gout.  Approximately 10% of people with gout produce too much uric acid and approximately 90% of people with gout have kidneys that are not able to eliminate the acid.

Below is a table of foods that tend to trigger gout flares.

 

Other ways to lower the possibility of experiencing gout flares are to maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, drink lots of water and add low fat dairy items to your diet.  Also, try and keep your uric acid levels under 6 mg/dL. 

There are four basic stages of rout.  The first stage is when someone has high levels of uric acid without any symptoms.  Although not everyone with high levels of uric acid will experience gout, those who do usually have high levels for many years without having a flare. 

The second stage is when you have a gout attack.  This occurs when the excess uric acid forms the crystals in the joints which causes inflammation and swelling. The bad news is that once you experience gout, flares will die down and become dormant, but 78% of gout sufferers will have another flare within 6 months to 2 years after their first bout.

Stage three is that period of time between gout flares.  As long as you have high uric acid, even though you might not be experiencing a flare, you still have gout. 

The final phase is referred to as, “chronic tophaceous gout.”  This is the most debilitating phase which can lead to joint damage and deformity of the joints if left untreated.  This happens after several years of suffering.

The Medical Foundation offers both urine and blood testing daily for uric acid.  This non-fasting test is used in the diagnosis and treatment of renal and metabolic disorders, including renal failure, gout, leukemia, psoriasis or starvation.