Gouty arthritis is a painful inflammation of the joints. Like other forms of arthritis it will seriously impact your ability to use the affected joint. The good news however is that gouty arthritis can be treated with medication or in some cases with a simple change in life style. That will allow you to get rid of the pain and resume the things that you normally do. It is important to understand how the gout develops so that you can prevent this from happening.
Gouty arthritis is caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood stream. Uric acid forms sharp crystals which become stuck in the joints and this is what causes the pain of gout. There are a few different ways that you can end up with an increased level of uric acid. The first is that your body can simply produce too much of it. The second is that you don't eliminate enough of it because of a problem with your kidneys. However the most common cause of having too much uric acid is what you eat. Certain foods like meat and alcohol contain something called purines which your body will metabolize as uric acid.
It is important to realize that just because you have a high level of uric acid in your blood doesn't necessarily mean that you have gouty arthritis. It is very possible that the excess uric acid is only a temporary condition that will quickly pass. In order to determine if you are actually suffering from gouty arthritis you will need to have a sample taken from your joint during an attack.
In many cases gouty arthritis will come and go, you will feel a sudden and violent pain in a single joint. Initially you will experience swelling and redness but it will quickly develop into a very painful condition. However over time the uric acid will move out of the joint and the pain will go away. However in some cases the pain will be more chronic and it will affect multiple joints. In this case it will start more slowly, usually with a pain in the big toe. This is one of the classic symptoms of gouty arthritis.
The standard treatment for gouty arthritis is colchicines which will relieve the pain but comes with some pretty serious side effects. An anti-inflammatory is also normally used to keep the swelling down and relieve the pain. In many cases the best way to deal with gouty arthritis is with a change in diet. Since the most common cause of an increase in uric acid is what we eat changing this can be a good way to get rid of the gout. There are also medications that can either block the creation of uric acid or increase the amount that you eliminate; your doctor can decide if one of these is right for you.
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Ellan Elanzen is an expert in the field of Health and Fitness
