Gout
It is one of the inflammatory diseases that affects the joints, and occurs when the level of uric acid in the blood. This acid forms crystals similar to the needles in different joints of the body, causing sudden pain and sudden pain, in addition to the redness and warmth and swelling of the joints affected. Studies show that about 4% of adults in the United States have gout, which usually affects men more than women.
There are several stages of gout, the first is the so-called high uric acid without symptoms, and preceded this stage suffering from the first bout of pain, and the proportion of uric acid high in the blood, may form the crystals in the joints without causing any symptoms, the second phase is called gout Acute uric acid, which increases the proportion of uric acid significantly, such as consuming large amounts of alcoholic beverages or exposure to infection, and suffers from severe pain and irritation in the joints that formed the crystals, as the pain continues severe for a period of up to 12 o The pain subsides and disappears after a few days. Some patients may not feel another bout of pain again, but about 84% will experience another severe gout during the next three years.
There is a third stage of infection of gout, which separate the attacks of gout, and although the patient does not feel pain, but the destruction of joints occurs at this stage, and is the most appropriate time to treat gout, to prevent the occurrence of other attacks, or to prevent the incidence of chronic gout . When uric acid continues to rise for several years, the patient becomes the fourth stage of the disease, which is chronic gout, where the pain attacks recur more often, and may not disappear that pain, in addition to reducing the extent of movement in the joints affected by the damage done to it.
Factors that increase the chance of getting gout
The most important factors that may increase the incidence of gout are as follows:
- Age: Increasing the chances of infection in males between the ages of 40 and 50 years. It also affects women after menopause more than others.
- Sex: Gout affects men more than women.
- There is a family history of the disease: if there are cases of gout infection is more likely to be infected by other members of the same family.
- Diet: People who eat too many foods containing purine, such as meat and some seafood, are more likely to get infected.
- Overuse of alcoholic beverages.
- Some medications: These drugs are diuretics or cyclosporine.
- Suffering from other medical conditions such as hypertension, kidney disease, thyroid disease, and diabetes.
Symptoms of gout
Symptoms of gout vary depending on the stage of the disease. The most prominent of these symptoms are as follows:
- The pain, swelling, and swelling of the joint, and the patient may feel severe pain when touched. Gout often affects the large toe joint. Usually, the pain begins at night, intensifies rapidly, and may last for several hours. The pain is so severe that there is no pressure on it, no matter how simple it may be, as well as that caused by bed linen.
- The redness of the skin around the injured joint may be purple.
- Reduce the extent of movement in the affected joints.
- The feeling of severe itching and flaking skin surrounding the injured joint, scientists consider this is a sign of improvement.
Treatment of gout
In a simple and non-recurrent case of gout, you can only rely on diet and lifestyle change without resorting to medication. If gout is severe, it is necessary to take drugs to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood, in addition to other types of medicines, . The treatment of gout is as follows: