Gout is on the rise, doctors point out 5 causes of the disease
Living environment and living conditions have changed, many diseases that were thought to only appear in the elderly are now increasing and becoming younger. Gout is one of those diseases.
The dangers of gout
Gout is a joint disease caused by a disorder of purine metabolism, which increases uric acid in the blood. When uric acid levels are too high, it will cause the deposition of urate crystals in body tissues (bones, joints, soft tissues near joints, kidneys, urinary tract, etc.).
Depending on the location of urate crystal deposition, gout causes symptoms such as: acute and chronic joint pain and inflammation, tophi, urinary kidney stones, chronic gouty kidney disease, and kidney failure.
Gout causes patients to have prolonged joint pain, stress, insomnia, and even disability due to severe joint damage. However, gout can be treated with medication and prevented from recurring if there is a scientific diet and healthy lifestyle.
Gout is caused by many reasons but mainly due to:
- Changing lifestyle, unscientific diet, use of alcohol and stimulants mainly among young people.
- Kidney diseases such as kidney failure reduce the excretory function of the kidneys, causing the amount of uric acid in the body to increase.
- Suffer from other diseases such as chronic leukemia, congenital hemolytic anemia...
- Use of drugs that increase uric acid levels in the blood such as: corticosteroids, aspirin, diuretics, cell inhibitors used in cancer treatment, tuberculosis treatment...
- Due to genetic factors.
Symptoms of gout
Most acute episodes of the disease usually last from 3 to 10 days. Some cases have no initial signs or have mild symptoms:
Severe, uncomfortable joint pain appears, especially at night, affecting sleep.
At the joints there are signs of swelling, redness, inflammation, hot feeling around the joints, very painful to the touch.
Mild fever, chills, poor appetite, poor health.
If the patient does not take medication or is treated incorrectly, the disease will become chronic and increasingly serious with symptoms such as:
Formation of tophi.
Permanent joint damage, joint stiffness, joint deformity and disability.
Causes kidney stones, kidney failure.
Gout treatment
Currently, there are many diagnostic methods such as blood tests to measure uric acid levels in the blood; joint aspiration to find uric acid crystals; joint X-rays; joint ultrasound; CT or MRI scans of the joints.
* Diet and lifestyle:
Avoid foods high in purines such as animal organs, red meat, shrimp, crab, etc. You can eat eggs, fruits, and no more than 150g of meat per day.
Drink plenty of water about 2-4 liters per day.
Do not drink alcohol or use stimulants, exercise regularly and control weight.
Avoid drugs that increase uric acid in the blood, avoid factors that trigger acute gout attacks such as stress, trauma...
* Drug treatment:
Anti-inflammatory drugs: used during acute gout attacks to reduce inflammation.
Uric acid lowering drugs: maintain to control blood uric acid levels, avoid recurrence of acute gout attacks.
* Treatment by surgical removal of tophi:
Tophi are a hallmark symptom of gout, resulting from the deposition of excess uric acid around the joints in the feet and hands.
Regularly screen and visit reputable, highly specialized hospitals to receive advice from leading specialists and have the best treatment regimens to prevent disease.
Specialist II Doctor Luong Dinh Ha(Head of Department of Internal Medicine, Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital)
