What is gout?

Gout represents one of the forms of arthritis and causes painful pain in those who suffer it. What is the cause of this disorder? What is gout?

Cause of illness

To date, the cause of this disease is known to medicine - it is a violation of the exchange of uric acid. The uric acid crystals are deposited in the synovial fluid of the joints, most often in the joint of the big toe. But such a violation can occur in other joints.

Uric acid is a product of the breakdown in the blood of substances called "purines". Needle crystals of uric acid are formed because of insufficient level of excretion of urine from the body.

How is gout manifested?

What is gout is known to many people is not hearsay. The inflamed joint swells , becomes hot and very painful. Sometimes similar symptoms appear when the joints of crystals of a different substance, calcium periphosphate, are deposited between cartilages. But this is another disease, which is called "pseudogout" and the treatment methods in this case are completely different. Therefore it is very important to make sure that you have a gout. That such a condition causes acute unbearable pain even with a slight touch, indicates how hard it is for those people who suffer them.

Why is the joint of the big toe most often affected? Due to low temperature and insufficient blood circulation - the main conditions for the accumulation of crystals of uric acid.

Gout - symptoms and treatment

Without treatment, a gout attack lasts, as a rule, about a week. The next can happen in a month or even a year. But over time, if not treated, the time between attacks is inexorably reduced and the joint can even be irreparably harmed, so it will be impossible to restore its function.

Often gout goes into a chronic form. However, very encouraging is the fact that gout is considered the most treatable form of arthritis. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are good . If there is a relapse or a severe attack, then alopurinol, which prevents the formation of uric acid, is very effective.

Risk factors - what is gout and is it possible to prevent an attack?

The main risk factors: heredity, sex and age.

At half of patients relatives also suffered from gout. Most often the disease affects men, especially if they have reached the age of 40-50 years. Women fall ill 2-3 times less often than men and very rarely before menopause.

The doctors answer: an attack can not be tolerated. But for this you need to adhere to the following rules:

• · Food habits play a big role in the prevention of gout. The purpose of the diet is not to reduce the use of foods with a high content of purines, and in the restoration of metabolism. Obesity, dyslepidemia, insulin resistance syndrome - this is a manifestation of metabolic disorders characteristic of gout.
• · However, it will not be superfluous to reduce in your diet products such as some varieties of fish, yeast and red meat because of the high content of purines. There are foods that do not affect the development of gout, although they contain purines - legumes, mushrooms, spinach, lentils, cauliflower and other vegetables.
• · Alcohol prevents the excretion of uric acid from the body, therefore, it should be reduced.
• Hypertension, diabetes, high blood cholesterol and vasoconstriction may provoke an acute attack of gout in the absence of treatment.
• · Prolonged lying in bed due to trauma or illness, as well as a disturbance in the functioning of the kidneys can also cause gout disease.
• · The use of diuretics (drugs in the treatment of hypertension) initiates the development of gout. Similarly, drugs for chemotherapy affect.

That neither you, nor your relatives have ever felt on yourself what is gout, try to monitor your health, especially if you are at risk.