Gout: Causes, Symptoms, and Medications
Sunday, September 22, 2019
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Gout symptoms are generally similar to symptoms of other rheumatic diseases. But there are some typical symptoms of gout, which distinguish it from other rheumatic diseases. These symptoms should get serious attention from sufferers to prevent the disease from getting worse. By knowing the symptoms of gout and how to deal with them appropriately, we can prevent this disease from developing even worse and cause complications of other diseases.
What is gout
Before discussing the symptoms of gout and how to overcome them appropriately, we discuss a little about what is gout.
Gout is a disease caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. Gout is a compound that normally already exists in our body. This compound is the final product of the metabolic process of purine compounds. Once formed, this substance will be removed through the kidneys. Normal uric acid levels in the blood around 2.4 - 6 mg / dl (in women) and 3.4 - 7 mg / dl (in men). This number can vary depending on the standard value of each laboratory.
If the uric acid level is high or exceeds the normal value above, this compound will crystallize and accumulate in and around the joints in the form of monosodium urate crystals. If the buildup is left for a long time let alone for years then these crystals will form hard lumps called tophi, which cause inflammation in the joints and surrounding tissue and cause pain especially if moved. This inflammation of the joint condition is called gout or gout arthritis.
Gout Symptoms And How To Overcome It Correctly
The most common symptom of gout is acute inflammation that recurs with characteristic red, hot, and swollen joints. Other symptoms such as fatigue and high fever, but these symptoms are rare. Attacks usually occur at night because human body temperatures are usually lower at night.
Symptoms of gout can occur in all joints in the body, but inflammation most commonly attacks the metatarsal-phalangeal joints in the big toe, ankle, knee, ankle, finger, and wrist.
The development of symptoms of this disease is very fast and can worsen in the first few hours. Pain in the joints can last for 3-10 days. Pain will soon be followed by swelling accompanied by a burning sensation and redness of the skin. This condition makes the sufferer have difficulty moving because the joints become stiff with severe pain.
Another manifestation of gout is usually in the form of TOFI. Tofi are small white bumps that are usually found on the auricle, and fingers or toes.
When the symptoms of gout begin to decrease, swelling in the joints slowly begins to disappear. This swelling will leave scars of the skin such as scaly, peeling, and itchy.
A drug used to relieve symptoms of gout
Although the symptoms of gout can usually resolve on their own, proper treatment to prevent worsening of the disease and prevent more severe disease complications must be done.
The thing you have to do to diagnose the symptoms of gout and how to deal with it appropriately is to see a doctor. Tell the doctor the symptoms that you experience such as in the joints where you feel pain, since when and how often you experience pain, and other things that are needed. The doctor will do several tests to make sure you really have gout. If laboratory tests are needed to determine the level of uric acid in the blood is also done.
After making sure you suffer from gout, the doctor will provide the necessary treatment. If therapy is needed with gout, the following drugs are commonly used:
To help relieve symptoms, the following painkillers (analgesic) and anti-inflammatory (anti-inflammatory) are commonly used: NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, piroxicam, diclofenac, mefenamic acid, and other NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and colchicine. One brand of drug that contains mefenamic acid is mefinal.
To help reduce uric acid levels in the blood: allopurinol or Probenecid.
In addition to chemical drugs, some herbal gout medicines are available on the market. Uric acid herbal medicinal products usually contain extracts of Sambiloto (Andrographis paniculata), Temulawak (Curcuma xanthorriza), Tempuyung (Sunchus arvensis), Pepper (Piper nigrum) and Turf (Cyperus rotundus).
How to prevent the onset of more severe symptoms of gout
Although gout medication is very helpful for sufferers, especially in reducing symptoms and controlling uric acid levels in the blood, the drug does not cure. The best way you can do to prevent disease recurrence and prevent complications is to live a healthy life. Here are the ways that you can do:
1. Limiting food intake high in purines
Foods such as offal, sardines, red meat (beef, pork and mutton), and seafood (tuna, shrimp, shellfish and lobster) are limited to a maximum of 113 - 170 g / day. Also limit consumption of vegetables such as cassava leaves, spinach, kale and gnetum because the purine content of these vegetables is quite high. Nuts are also known to contain high purines, so they should also be limited.
2. Foods that contain high saturated fatty acids
Fried foods, coconut milk, margarine or butter should be avoided because saturated fatty acids can reduce the ability of the kidneys to excrete uric acid from the body. Consumption of fat should be no more than 15% of total calories.
3. Reduce intake of simple carbohydrates
Foods that contain simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, cakes, sweets, and foods containing fructose sweeteners, should be reduced. Highly recommended to choose the type of complex carbohydrates such as rice, cassava, bread and sweet potatoes not less than 100 grams per day.
4. You should not consume alcohol
We recommend that you do not consume alcoholic beverages, especially beer because alcohol will increase levels of lactic acid in the blood. Lactic acid inhibits uric acid expenditure from the body.
5. Limit your intake of foods containing high animal protein
Foods such as liver, brain, lungs and spleen should be limited. Because animal protein can increase uric acid levels in the blood. Good protein intake is vegetable protein, for example, which comes from milk, cheese and eggs with the amount ranging from 50-70 grams / day 0.8-1 gram / kg BW / day.
6. Adequate fluid intake
It is highly recommended for you to consume at least 2.5 liters of liquid or 10 glasses a day. Adequate fluid consumption will help the process of uric acid removal through urine. Liquids do not have to be plain water, but can be in the form of tea, coffee, or fruits that contain a lot of water such as watermelons, melons, cantaloupe, pineapple, star fruit, and guava water. It must be remembered that not all fruits are good for sufferers of this disease. Fruits such as avocados and durian should be limited because these fruits have high fat content.
By handling the symptoms of gout and treating it appropriately, the possibility of this disease recurring with a more severe severity can be avoided. Adhere to the therapy recommended by your doctor and try to live healthy will help you a lot.
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