What are Gouty Arthritis?

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that causes swelling and pain in one or more joints. It occurs when uric acid develops to higher levels in the blood than the body can handle.

Most gout people experience pain at the base of their big toe. However, it can happen in any joint on either side of your body, including:

Your knees.
Your ankles.
Your feet.
Your hands and wrists.
Your elbows.

Episodes of gout symptoms come and go. These episodes are sometimes referred to as flares or gout attacks. Your doctor will recommend medications and dietary changes that will lower uric acid in your body and reduce how often you'll have gout attacks in the future.

What are gout symptoms?

A gout attack is so painful that you may not want to move the joint. It is not uncommon for patients to wake up during the night with a gout attack. During a gout attack, your affected joints may be uncomfortable and include the following symptoms:

Severe pain.
Discoloration or redness.
Stiffness.
Swelling.
Tenderness, sometimes even to a light touch (like a bed sheet covering your affected joint).
Warmth, or a sensation like the joint was "on fire."

How long does a gout attack last?

Gout attacks normally last for just a week or two. The duration of your flares may vary, and some may cause more severe symptoms than others. It's possible that you don't exhibit any gout symptoms between episodes.

What causes gout?

This is usually caused by accumulating high uric acid in your body. Your body has a natural process for making uric acid, since it breaks down some chemicals called purines found in food and drinks. Your kidneys naturally filter out uric acid from your blood, leaving your body when pee. Sometimes, your body produces too much uric acid, or your kidneys do not remove it from your blood quickly enough. If your urate is high, it may have lots of urate crystal formation. These sharp crystals clump into the joint and cause sudden episodes of pain, swelling and other symptoms. Temporary high uric acid levels do not guarantee someone will definitely come down with gout. Most people diagnosed with hyperuricemia never actually develop gout.

What are the risk factors for gout arthritis?

Gout can happen to anyone. AMAB are three times more likely to get gout than AFAB. People assigned female at birth usually do not develop gout until after they have gone through menopause. People who have other illnesses are also more likely to develop gout. Those include, among many, the following:

Overweight or obese.
Congestive heart failure.
Diabetes.
Hypertension (high blood pressure).
Kidney disease.
Blood cancer.
If your biological parents or grandparents has gout, you are more likely to get gout as well.
Consume large amounts of animal proteins — in particular, meat, seafood and foods rich in organ meat.
Drink alcohol frequently
Use diuretic medication (water pills).
Use immunosuppressants.

What foods cause gout?

Consuming or drinking foods full of purines increases the chances of developing high uric acid levels in your body that lead to gout, such as:

Sugar drinks and candies: Regular white sugar is half fructose, which then gets converted to uric acid. Any food or drink with high sugar quantity may cause gout.
Fructose-rich corn sweetener: This is a highly concentrated form of fructose. Packaged foods and snacks are commonly found with plenty of high fructose corn sweetener.
Alcohol: While most beers, wines and liquor are not extremely high in purines, alcohol actually draws uric acid back into your body where it builds up so lowers your kidneys ability to remove uric acid from your body.
Some Seafood: Herring, scallops, mussels, codfish, tuna, trout and haddock.
Red meat: Beef, lamb, pork and bacon.
Turkey: Particularly processed deli turkey.
Gravy and meat sauces.

How is gout diagnosed?

A healthcare provider diagnoses gout with a physical exam. They will ask you about your symptoms and check your affected joints. Inform your provider about how long ago you first noticed symptoms, including pain and swelling in your joint, and how often those symptoms come and go.

What tests will be ordered for a diagnosis of gout?

Your doctor may take imaging tests to capture pictures of your affected joints. These tests may also reveal any changes that gout might have made in your joints. You may require:

X-rays.
Ultrasound.
Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI.
A CT scan — specifically, a dual-energy CT.

Other tests your doctor commonly does when diagnosing gout include:

Blood tests to measure your blood's level of uric acid.
Joint aspiration is taking a fluid sample inside a joint with a needle.

What is the treatment for gout?

Gout treatment often consists of managing your symptoms during an attack and limiting the frequency of your high-purine foods and beverages.

Gout Medications

Your doctor may recommend any of the following medications to treat your symptoms:

Over-the-counter NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen or naproxen, may help manage pain and inflammation during an attack of gout. However, individuals with certain conditions, such as kidney disease or stomach ulcers, should avoid taking NSAIDs. Consult your provider about taking NSAIDs.
Prescription Colchicine: Colchicine is a prescription medication that may help you reduce inflammation and pain if started early in the episode. It must be started within 24 hours of the onset of an attack.
Corticosteroids: Corticosteroids are medications that your doctor prescribes to reduce inflammation. Your doctor can put you on oral by-mouth tablets, and they also inject these steroids intramuscularly near the affected joint.

Your doctor may prescribe certain drugs, which decreases the amount of uric acid in the body. Some of the commonly used medicines that lower your uric acid level are:

Allopurinol.
Febuxostat.
Pegloticase.
Probenecid.
Low purine diet for gout.

Your doctor may recommend that you adopt a low-purine diet. A low-purine diet encourages you to eat fewer foods and drinks with high purine levels. This minimizes uric acid in your body. Additionally, it encourages you to eat some selected foods that may lower your uric acid level.

Can I prevent gout?

The best way to prevent gout is to limit the frequency you consume high-purine foods and drinks. You should also ensure that you hydrate well, as water helps enhance the performance of your kidneys, thereby preventing dehydration.

Regular exercises can reduce the pressure on your joints and minimize your risks for obesity and other conditions that increase the risk for gout development.

What can I expect if I have gout?

You may experience periods of increased symptoms with gout, and some people experience attacks more frequently unless they receive medical evaluation and treatment for the underlying disease.

In addition, for some patients, treatment induces a more severe or more frequent attack as the body responds to the new drug by lowering uric acid levels.

What is the prognosis for people with gout?

Most sufferers will discover a potent mix of treatments and lifestyle changes that allow them to manage their symptoms and limit the occurrence of gout attacks. Gout is curable: Patients whose blood uric level is less than 6 mg/dL are much less likely to suffer an attack of gout.

Untreated gout can lead to permanent damage to your joints. The accumulation of uric acid in your joints and soft tissue is called a tophus. Other medical conditions some people with gout face include the following:

Severe arthritis and joint deformation.
Tophi' is the plural of 'tophus' and refers to the accumulation of uric acid in the joints and soft tissues, a medical term.
Kidney stones.
Coronary heart disease.

Living With

How to Treat an Attack of Gout?

When you have an attack of gout, you can control your symptoms by the following:

Avoid alcohol and soft drinks.
Drinking abundant amounts of water.
Elevate the affected joints as high as possible to or above the level of your heart.
Ice up your joints. Use a thin towel to cover an ice pack, or apply a cold compress to the involved joint for 15-20 minutes daily.
Prohibition or restriction of intense exercises or physical activities can limit the amount of stress exerted on your joints.

Why choose Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for Gouty Arthritis Treatment in Lucknow, India?

Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital offers advanced Gouty Arthritis treatment in Lucknow, India, at an affordable cost. We have a team of experienced rheumatologists and internal medicine specialists who provide accurate diagnosis with advanced imaging and uric acid profiling, personalized medical care, and both medication and lifestyle-based treatment options. Our Rheumatology and Internal Medicine team has decades of experience in successfully treating Gouty Arthritis in Lucknow, India.