Gout can be traced back to ancient Egyptian times. It’s common and painful but it can be treated and there are ways to lower your risk of developing it.
What Causes Gout?
Gout is a form of arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid in the joints. Uric acid is a waste product that your body makes when digesting certain foods. It’s usually flushed out by your kidneys but, if your body can’t do this fast enough, uric acid builds up in your bloodstream and causes gout.
Small uric acid crystals form around your joints, often your big toe. Your joint becomes red, swollen and very sore.
What Are the Risk Factors for Gout?
Lifestyle factors, family history and some other medical conditions increase your uric acid levels and can lead to gout.
Lifestyle Factors
Lifestyle factors such as diet, weight, stress and alcohol consumption can all contribute to gout developing.
Family History
Gout sometimes runs in families. If you have a genetic predisposition towards gout, then it’s important to be aware of the condition and how to prevent it.
Other Medical Conditions
You’re more likely to get gout if you’re already dealing with:
● Obesity
● High blood pressure treated by diuretics
● Kidney disease
● Diabetes
● Some cancer types and chemotherapy
● An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
● Psoriasis (a chronic skin condition).
Who Gets Gout?
You’re more likely to get gout if you have some of the risk factors mentioned above.
You’re also more likely to get gout if you’re a man. Nearly 9 out of 10 Australians with gout are men.
When women get gout, it is usually after menopause since higher estrogen levels protect women of childbearing age. However, younger women may still get gout if they have other risk factors.
How Common Is It?
Doctors think that about 5% of Australians have gout.
What Does Gout Feel Like?
Gout may come out of nowhere. You may wake up in the early hours with sudden, intense pain in a red, swollen joint. It’ll most probably be your big toe but can affect your leg, arm or hand joints too.
How Long Does Gout Last?
Gout attacks can last a week or two if not treated. With treatment, symptoms usually improve dramatically after 24 hours so it’s important to see a doctor quickly rather than suffer unnecessarily.
After the initial attack, gout might not bother you again for several years. Then it might start happening more often. It might also involve more joints, have more severe symptoms or last longer each time.
That means gout can be either acute or chronic. Acute gout involves sudden attacks that then settle down and disappear for long periods. Chronic gout happens when those flares keep happening in the same joint over many years and the underlying problem of too much uric acid is not dealt with.
How Is Gout Treated?
Treatment is usually about reducing uric acid levels by changing your lifestyle and reducing pain and inflammation in the affected joint.
Lifestyle Changes
Try to maintain a healthy weight as fat cells make more uric acid than muscle cells. Also manage your stress levels as stress tends to cause inflammation which can raise your uric acid levels.
Alcohol is a big culprit. When your boss dumps a last-minute emergency project in your lap, you have to leave your other work to deal with the new task. It’s much the same for your kidneys when you drink alcohol. They should be at work filtering uric acid out of your blood but instead they’re having to deal with alcohol. Try to cut down or cut out alcohol and drink more water which is kinder to your kidneys.
Changing your diet can help to reduce foods with high levels of purine, which produces uric acid. Those foods include Australia’s iconic Vegemite, some meats, anchovies, sardines, liver, kidney and beer. For proper nutrition, it’s important to eat a balanced diet across the five food groups while reducing foods that could worsen gout. Many people with gout see an accredited dietician for help with this.
Reducing Pain and Inflammation
Your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs or steroid injections as well as a medicine called colchicine which reduces pain and tenderness in the affected joint.
You may also be advised to rest the painful joint as much as possible until it’s feeling better.
Can Gout Be Prevented?
You can reduce your risk of gout by reducing uric acid levels. This may include:
● Losing weight
● Reducing or eliminating alcohol
● Changing your diet to reduce purine-rich foods
● Taking regular medication.
How We Can Help
Our skilled GPs at Peregian Family Medical Centre can help you if you’re worried about gout.
If it’s your first attack, we can help reduce the pain and then we can develop a treatment plan to reduce the risk of further problems. If you’ve had gout for a while, we can review your treatment, advise you of the latest research and refer you to an accredited dietician for help modifying your diet.
Please book an appointment today.
