How do you know if you have gout in your hand?

Gout management used to require strict diets. However, medications that treat gout have made it easier to follow the Uric Acid Diet. Gout management is often referred to by doctors as a Uric Acid diet. However, it is not easy to avoid your favorite foods such as steak, lamb, bacon or venison. The answer doesn't lie with a fish diet.

A high intake of fish can lead to high levels of uric acid, especially in shellfish like lobster, mussels, and prawns. Eating vegetarian is not an option, as certain vegetables are high in Purines. Asparagus (including cauliflower, kidney beans, kidney beans, lentils, spinach), mushrooms, kidney beans and lentils are all good options.

Gout remedies are mostly used to prevent future attacks and to treat long-term symptom issues. However, many patients find relief quickly by using herbs like ginger and turmeric to reduce inflammation and pain. If the patient is able, meditation can be a very useful tool.

Research has shown that meditation can reduce stress and stress-related hormones. This can help to decrease pain sensations and increase pain tolerance.

It is called the disease of kings. Yet gout, far from having disappeared, is actually on the increase worldwide.

The main cause of a gout attack is a high level of uric acid in the blood (above 6.8 mg/dL, the solubilisation point of uric acid). This molecule circulates in the blood and accumulates in the joints in the form of crystals, which cause an inflammatory reaction and intense pain.

The body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines, which are substances that are naturally present in the body. Purines are also found in certain foods, including red meat and organ meats such as liver. Purine-rich fish and shellfish include anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout and tuna. Alcoholic beverages, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose) promote higher levels of uric acid. So high consumption of those food is an important marker.

In addition, certain diuretic treatments for high blood pressure can favour the appearance of gout. The same goes for treatments prescribed to kidney and heart transplant patients. This is why it is important to check any other medical prescriptions, because sometimes it is enough to stop or change the offending treatment.

Normally, uric acid dissolves in the blood and passes through the kidneys into the urine. Sometimes the body produces too much uric acid or the kidneys excrete too little. When this happens, uric acid builds up and forms sharp needle-shaped urate crystals in a joint or the surrounding tissue, causing pain, inflammation and swelling.

So, the cause of gout is an excess of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia). But this alone is not enough to speak of gout, there must be joint damage. This disease affects about 2% of the population and does not affect just anyone: 80% of those affected are men over 40 years old, often overweight and with a rich diet. It is also not uncommon to find a favourable genetic background, with parents of the previous generation prone to gout.

The appearance of a gout attack is often sufficiently typical to make the diagnosis, so hyperuricemia must be sought by taking a blood test.

Gout crises (or attacks) can come on suddenly and can be extremely painful. During a gout attack, pain, swelling and/or redness appear in the affected joint. Gout attacks vary in duration: some last only a few hours, others last several days.

Without treatment, a minor gout attack will disappear spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks. With treatment, the pain disappears within a few hours and the gout attack is resolved.

The start of a background treatment allows a decrease in uricemia and gout attacks become rare. In the absence of background treatment, gout attacks recur. The first gouty attacks usually affect the feet (especially the big toe), then the ankles and knees

After several years of evolution, gout can affect the joints of the arms (hands, elbows).

The affected joint swells and becomes red, hot and painful. The joint may become stiff and hurt more when touched. An acute attack of gout in hand lasts 3 to 10 days on average.

Sometimes people with acute gout only have attacks once or twice a year. When you have chronic gout, the attacks happen more often and the periods of normality between attacks are shortened.there are things you can do to control your symptoms during gout attacks.

During an attack, the main goal of treatment is to reduce pain and swelling in the joint. If you are already taking a uric acid-lowering medication at the time of the attack, you should continue to take it as usual. If you are not already taking a uric acid-lowering medication at the time of the crisis, you should not start uric acid-lowering medication during the crisis, but after the crisis, as directed by your doctor.

Maintain a healthy weight. Gout symptoms can be aggravated by excess weight and stress.

Always try to lose excess weight by following a controlled diet. Rapid weight loss can lead to excessive uric acids in the blood.

Avoid low-carb diets to lose weight. They are high in fats and protein which can directly increase your chances of developing hyperuricemia (high levels of Uric Acid) in your blood.