What is Gout? - Mobility Center

Gout is a general type of inflammatory arthritis that is extremely painful. It typically impacts one joint at a time (usually your big toe joint). Sometimes when symptoms worsen, called flares, and times when there aren’t any symptoms, called remission. Having gout more than once can result in gouty arthritis, a type of arthritis which gets increasingly worse. Gout has no cure, but you can effectively manage and treat the condition through medication and self-management approaches.

What Is the Cause of Gout?

Gout is the result of an ailment referred to as hyperuricemia. This occurs when there is an excess of uric acid in your body. Your body creates this acid as it breaks down purines, that are found in your body and the foods you consume. If there is an excess of uric acid in the body, uric acid crystals can form in joints, tissues, and fluids, inside the body. Hyperuricemia is not always the cause of gout. Individuals that have hyperuricemia but don’t have symptoms of gout don’t require medical treatments.

How Is It Diagnosed?

A healthcare provider determines gout by gauging your symptoms and the outcome of your physical exam, X-rays, and laboratory tests. Gout is only diagnosed within a flare when a joint is burning, inflamed, and painful and when a laboratory test pinpoints uric acid crystals in the impacted joint.

How Is It Treated?

Gout can be successfully treated and managed with medical treatments and self-management approaches. Your healthcare provider may suggest a medical treatment plan for

Managing the pain of a flare. Treatments for flares includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine. Injected or oral corticosteroids can also be utilized.
Preventing future flares. Make changes to your diet and lifestyle, like losing weight, restricting alcohol, staying away from foods that are high in purines (such as red meat or organ meat that can be the cause of gout flares), might help hinder future attacks. Modifying or stopping medications related to hyperuricemia (such as diuretics) might also help.
Preventing kidney stones and tophi. These stones happen because of frequently high levels of uric acid. Tophi are rigid, uric acid deposits underneath the skin. For people with chronic flares or frequent gout, doctors might suggest taking specific drugs such as febuxostat, allopurinol, and pegloticase. These drugs decrease uric acid levels and can impede future flares.

Together with medical treatment, you can control your gout with self-management approaches. Self-management approaches are things that you can do every day to control your ailment and stay healthy. The self-management approaches described below are proven to decrease pain and impairment in order to do the activities that are vital to you.

How Can I Control It and Improve My Quality of Life?

Gout impacts many facets of day-to-day living, including work and leisurely activities. Fortunately, there are many budget-friendly self-management approaches that are proven to improve the quality of life of individuals that have gout.

For Gout in Particular

Eat a diet that is healthy. Stay away from foods that might trigger a gout flare-up. These foods comprise of those high in purines (such as a diet rich in red meat, seafood, and organ meat)
Restrict alcohol intake, particularly hard liquor, and beer.

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