Gout is a disease caused by high uric acid, this is a fact

Indonesian people may already be familiar with the term gout. Gout is a disease that is often associated with low back pain and is commonly experienced by the elderly. The pain can get worse, especially if the person is lifting heavy weights or standing too long.

Launching the Arthritis Foundation, gout is actually the impact of gout. This disease not only attacks the waist, but also other joints in your body. Gout cannot be cured, but there are many ways you can control the symptoms.

Gout and gout are two things that are related

Gout is an inflammatory joint disease caused by high uric acid in the blood or hyperuricemia. Under normal conditions, the body can excrete uric acid through urine and feces. However, if the amount is excess, uric acid will harden and form crystals.

Uric acid crystals then build up in the joints and cause inflammation and intense pain. This symptom is often referred to as gout. If left untreated, this disease can become chronic and cause damage to the tissues around the joints.

The joints most commonly affected by gout are the big toes, ankles, soles of the feet and knees. However, gout sometimes affects the elbows, fingers, wrists, and spine, although rarely.

What are the symptoms experienced by people with gout?

Gout symptoms can appear at any time without early signs, but sufferers often complain of it in the middle of the night. Joints affected by gout will generally experience symptoms in the form of:

• severe pain
• redness
• hot sensation
• swelling
• stiff feeling

After the symptom attacks are over, you may not have them again for several weeks, months, or years afterward. In fact, during this period uric acid crystals formed in the joints increased in number.

It is only some time after that, the joints in the body become inflamed again so that the sufferer feels the symptoms of gout that had previously disappeared. Symptoms can get worse if the tissue around the joint has been damaged.

Who is most at risk of developing gout?

The cause of gout is hyperuricemia, but the factors that increase the risk are more than that. Gout is usually more common in people with the following conditions:

• male
• are overweight or obese
• have a family member who has gout
• taking diuretic drugs (stimulating urine output)
• suffer from congestive heart failure, metabolic syndrome and hypertension
• have insulin resistance or diabetes
• decreased kidney function
• consuming alcohol or foods and drinks high in fructose
• often consume high-purine foods such as meat, offal, and seafood

If you have one or more of these conditions, you should have your uric acid level checked regularly. That way, you can monitor the value regularly so that it develops into arthritis.

How to deal with gout with lifestyle improvements

Gout is a disease that affects many aspects of your life. Symptoms not only interfere with daily work, but also make you unable to enjoy relaxing time due to the pain it causes.

This disease also cannot be cured. So, you need to take medication to relieve inflammation and the symptoms that accompany it. For chronic gout sufferers, doctors usually also recommend therapy with special drugs to reduce excess uric acid levels.

Even though it can't be cured, people with gout can still manage the symptoms that appear by improving their lifestyle. Here are some tips that you can apply so that the symptoms of gout are no longer excruciating:

1. Improve diet

Uric acid is a waste product of purines, so people with gout should not eat purine-rich foods. Avoid offal, seafood , as well as drinks containing fructose and alcohol. Replace with vegetables, fruit, eggs, and other sources of carbohydrates.

2. Active sports

When the body is not getting gout, fill your days with light exercise such as walking, cycling, or swimming. Do it for at least 30 minutes at a frequency of three days a week.

3. Maintain ideal body weight

Excess weight puts a strain on your joints, making the effects of gout even worse. As much as possible, maintain your ideal body weight by actively exercising and not overeating.

4. Protect the joints

Gout affected joints are more prone to injury. Injuries will certainly make joint damage worse. Protect your joints by engaging in physical activity and safe exercise. Also use joint protectors if necessary.

Gout is a disease caused by the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints. Without treatment, gout, which initially causes only pain, can lead to damage to the joints and surrounding tissue.

In order to maintain joint health, make sure you live a healthy lifestyle and diet. Don't forget to check your uric acid levels regularly so that the value is always monitored.