Gout (gout): symptoms, causes and treatment

Definition

What is gout or gout?

The definition of gout (gout) is inflammation of the joints that occurs due to uric acid levels (uric AC ID) in the body that is too high (hyperuricemia). This disease is a common type of arthritis or arthritis.

This condition can suddenly cause joints to feel painful, swollen, and red. The condition can affect one joint or several joints at one time.

The joints that are affected are generally in the big toe, but other joints can also be affected, such as in the ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and hands. The spine can also be affected, although rarely.

If left untreated, this condition can cause chronic gout in the sufferer. In fact, over time, this disease can damage your joints as a whole.

How common is gout?

Gout or gout is a common condition in adults. Reporting from the Indonesian Rheumatology Association, this disease occurs in 1-2% of adults and is the largest case of inflammatory arthritis in men.

Gout is estimated to occur in 13 people out of 1,000 men and 6 in 1,000 women. Meanwhile, other types of arthritis that often occur in women are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Gout can be managed by reducing several lifestyle factors. Consult your doctor for more information.

Signs & symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of gout?

At first, gouty arthritis may not cause significant symptoms. Usually the symptoms begin when the disease has been going on for a long time and is characterized by sudden and recurring attacks of gout. These attacks also tend to occur frequently in the middle of the night.

The most common signs and symptoms of gout are:

• Sudden and severe joint pain, which generally first occurs in the morning.
• Swollen joints.
• Reddish joints.
• The joint feels warm and tender when pressed.

Symptoms or attacks of gout can last for days or weeks. However, in severe cases, the attacks can last longer.

There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about a particular symptom, consult your doctor.

When to see a doctor?

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, check with your doctor right away for treatment. The reason is, this condition can cause permanent joint damage if left untreated.

You should also seek medical attention immediately if the pain gets worse, feels hot and inflamed, is accompanied by a high fever. The reason is, this condition can be a sign that you have an infection in the joints.

Causes & risk factors

What causes gout?

The cause of gout is the level of uric acid or uric acid that's too high in the body. The body produces u ric acid naturally when you break down purines, which are substances in your body that come from the food you eat.

Under normal conditions, uric acid will be excreted by the body through urine and feces. However, if uric acid levels are normal in excess, these substances eventually accumulate and form crystals around the joints. This buildup of urate crystals then causes inflammation.

Too high uric acid levels can be caused by unhealthy eating patterns, such as eating foods that contain purines too often. However, not everyone is with levels uric acid people who are high will experience gout.

What increases a person's risk of developing gout?

Eating too many foods that contain purines is the main cause of gout. However, there are various other factors that can increase your risk of developing this disease, namely:

1. Increased age and male gender

Gout tends to be more common in men than women, because women tend to have levels uric acid lower than men. However, after menopause, levels uric acid women can approach the level of men.

Therefore, women who experience gout generally occur after menopause. Meanwhile, men who experience this disease are usually in the range of 30-50 years.

2. Family medical history

If one family member has gout, you are more likely to develop the disease.

3. Obesity

Being overweight or obese can increase a person's risk of developing gout. People who have a body mass index of more than 25 kg / m2 should be more aware of this disease.

4. Consumption of certain drugs

The side effects of certain drugs can be the cause uric acid accumulate in the body. Some of these drugs, namely aspirin, diuretic drugs, and other drugs commonly used to treat hypertension, such as beta blockers and ACE inhibitors.

5. Certain medical conditions

Having certain diseases or medical conditions can increase your risk of developing gout, such as diabetes, impaired kidney function, heart disease, high blood pressure, or metabolic syndrome.

6. Unhealthy lifestyle

Eat foods that contain lots of purines, such as meat and seafood will cause symptoms to appear. In addition, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and consuming foods or drinks containing fructose (a type of sugar) can be the cause of the levels uric acid on the blood soared.

7. Recently injured or had surgery

Recent surgeries or surgeries and trauma can increase your risk of developing a gout attack.

Complications

What are the possible complications of gout?

Gout can get worse if people don't regularly take medication and get proper medical care. In fact, it is not impossible for this disease to cause complications or other health problems.

Gout complications that may arise are:

• Tophi. This condition is characterized by a buildup of crystals under the surface of the skin that form lumps called tophi. Generally formed on the fingers, hands, feet, elbows or ankles.
• Joint damage. If the patient ignores the recommendation to take medication, it is not impossible that the joints will be permanently damaged. This condition increases the risk of injury and other bone and joint health problems.
• Kidney stones. If this disease is not treated properly, urate crystals can also accumulate in the kidneys. This causes kidney stones and blocks the flow of urine to pass.
• Kidney failure. If the kidney stones that are formed get bigger, of course this will interfere with the work of the kidneys, and can even cause kidney failure.

Diagnosis & stages

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How do doctors diagnose gout?

Gout disease can easily fool a doctor's diagnosis because most of the symptoms are almost the same as other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis). In fact, rheumatism and gout are different, including the causes they cause.

Therefore, if a person is suspected of having gout, there are several tests recommended by the doctor. Some of the diagnostic tests for gout include:

• Joint fluid test

This examination is done by taking the affected joint fluid using a syringe, which is then examined in the laboratory. Crystal uric acid may be visible on examination under a microscope.

• Blood test

This test aims to determine levels uric acid in the blood.

• Urine test

Apart from doing blood tests, levels uric acid will also be seen in your urine. If it is not normal, then you are very likely to experience this disease.

• X-rays

If this condition is suspected, the patient needs to do an X-ray to see further the causes of inflammation that occur in the joints.

• CT-scan or ultrasound (USG)

Both of these tests can detect a buildup of crystals in the joint, even if the sufferer doesn't cause symptoms.

The stages of gout disease

Based on symptoms and diagnostic tests, your doctor can determine the stage or severity of the gout you are experiencing. The following are the stages of the disease:

• The first stage: At this stage, grading uric acid has gone up and urate crystals have formed around the joint, but no symptoms appear. These crystals can cause joint inflammation at a later date. However, most people with levels uric acid height may never experience gout.
• Second stage (acute): At this stage, urate crystals are released into the joint fluid and cause inflammation, causing symptoms. Sudden and unexpected attacks of gout symptoms at night can also occur.
• Third stage (Intercritical): A person who experiences the first attack will generally experience another attack at some point in time. The period between the two attacks belongs to the third stage. This condition looks like it's getting better, but it actually requires long-term treatment to prevent future attacks.
• Fourth stage (chronic): At this stage the urate crystals have formed a lump (tophi) and a person can feel joint pain at any time. At this stage, progressive joint damage develops and the patient needs immediate treatment.

Treatment

What are the drug options for gout?

One way to treat and lower uric acid is with drugs. The drugs given are generally adjusted to the severity and your overall health condition.

The following are gout drugs that are generally given by doctors:

• Nonsteorid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or celecoxib, to treat seizures or sudden symptoms.
• Corticosteroid drugs, such as prednisone, to reduce inflammation and pain.
• Colchicine medicine to help reduce pain and the risk of recurrence.
• Medicines that control the level of uric acid in the blood, such as allopurinol and febuxostat.

Can gout sufferers recover completely?

Unfortunately, gout sufferers cannot fully recover from their illness. However, this disease can be controlled with drugs and lead a healthy lifestyle to prevent the risk of recurrence and progression of the disease that gets worse.

Consult your doctor for more information on this subject.

Home care

What are some lifestyle changes and home remedies that can help treat gout?

Not only take medication regularly, you also have to adhere to various gout restrictions to prevent recurrence in the future.

In addition, you also need to adopt a healthy lifestyle to help overcome this disease. Here are lifestyle changes and home remedies you can take:

• Limiting high-purine foods, such as red meat, offal, and seafood (seafood).
• Limit consumption of alcohol and drinks or foods containing fructose.
• Eat foods for gout which can help lower levels uric acid, like cherries.
• Increase drinking water.
• Doing exercise regularly and losing weight.
• Quit smoking.

If you have a gout attack or a recurrence, in addition to taking medication from your doctor, you can do the following home remedies to help manage it:

• Break.
• Lift the affected limb to reduce swelling.
• Apply an ice pack to the inflamed joint for about 20 minutes.
• Repeat the compress as often as needed.

If you have any questions, please consult a doctor to better understand the best solution for you.

Prevention

How do you prevent gout?

Gout can occur when you have levels uric acid tall one. Therefore, you need to control your levels uric acid on yourself to avoid this disease. In addition to routine uric acid checks, here are some ways to prevent gout that you can practice:

• Maintain ideal body weight, and lose weight if you are obese.
• Implement a healthy diet and control foods that cause levels uric acid high, such as limiting consumption of red meat, offal, seafood, alcohol, and foods or drinks containing fructose.
• Consume enough water to avoid dehydration.
• Doing exercise regularly.