Acute gout is a form of osteoarthritis that causes sudden pain at night and fatigue, affecting the functioning of the limbs. Therefore, knowing the signs to quickly give a specific treatment regimen will help the process of treating the disease easier.
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What is acute gout?
Gout is divided into 2 main stages, including acute gout and chronic gout. Acute gout is defined as the early stage of the disease, at which time the uric acid concentration in the blood has exceeded the permitted level and causes painful symptoms in the joints.
However, at this time, the pain is only moderate, infrequent, only about 1-2 times a year. In this acute stage, the disease does not cause many dangers and serious complications, but simply unpleasant aches and pains.
When acute gout is not actively and thoroughly treated, it will easily turn the disease into a chronic stage, making it difficult to treat. The common symptoms in this period such as tophi, paralysis, disability, severe damage to the kidneys, liver …
Causes of acute gout
Currently, acute gout occurs at an extremely high rate, if before the disease only appeared in the elderly, middle-aged, today the disease tends to be rejuvenated. According to statistics of the Ministry of Health, there are currently more than 10 causes of gout, of which mainly include the following 5 main causes:
Due to unreasonable diet
Of all the gout causes, the unscientific diet is the most common cause of acute gout attacks. People who regularly eat foods rich in protein, foods containing purines and increase the concentration of uric acid in the blood, urine.
This eating habit prolongs will cause urate crystals in the joints of muscles. This is the direct cause of acute gout attacks.
In addition, people who regularly drink a lot of alcohol are also a major cause of increased purines and lead to increased uric acid in the blood. And when combined with protein rich foods, the speed of gout attacks occurs faster.
In addition to unscientific eating habits, frequent staying up late together with inactivity will also easily cause metabolic disorders in the body. These are the most favorable conditions for gout to develop. Therefore, the construction of a diet, living and exercise science is one of the most effective ways to help prevent gout.
Due to genetics
According to statistics from surveys show that about 25% of gout cases are related to genetic factors. When a family member has gout, the risk of a child’s life or grandchildren will also be prone to congenital gout.
According to the experts’ explanation, it is due to the metabolic disorder of substances in the body such as fat, sugar, cholesterol … causing the endogenous purine synthesis to increase and lead to an increase in uric acid.
Age
According to research on gout, the age group most susceptible to gout is men from 30 to 50 years old. The reason is that middle-aged men are the target group that tends to live unhealthy, drink a lot of alcohol, eat a lot of protein, be sedentary and suffer from medical conditions such as fatty blood, diabetes.
In addition, women who are in menopause are also more susceptible to gout than normal ones. This is due to the abnormal change in the hormone estrogen that affects the synthesis and elimination of uric acid in the blood from the body. From there, it is easy to cause the body to form urate crystals, causing acute gout attacks.
Overweight, obesity
According to research by experts, the group of overweight and obese people is evaluated as having the ability to excrete uric acid more slowly than normal people. Consequently, there is an increase in the concentration of uric acid in the blood.
In addition, those at risk of diseases or are suffering from diseases such as lipid disorders, diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, increased blood glucose … will also easily increase the uric acid index. in the blood and gout formation.
In addition, people who regularly use Western drugs to treat diseases are also likely to affect the function of the kidneys due to the influence of side effects of drugs. Kidney failure slows the elimination of uric acid from the body and, as a result, increases the risk of gout.
Signs identify acute gout
According to experts, acute gout is the beginning of the metabolism and onset of symptoms after an incubation period. At this point, some symptoms of acute gout may occur such as:
- Gout attacks come on suddenly and happen in a moment. Most commonly at night, up to 60-70% of patients feel pain in the toe.
- Big toe joints or other joints such as knee joints, hands, ankles, elbows, wrists… are swollen, swollen, stretchy, red and painful, the harder you touch, the more painful it is. Very rarely, pain in the spine, shoulder or groin occurs.
- In addition to the pain that comes on suddenly at night, acute gout pain can also appear after a hearty meal, lots of meat, fish, seafood and alcohol.
- Acute gout attacks will usually cause swelling and pain within 12 – 24 hours and disappear. However, it can be repeated at least several times in a year.
- In addition to the above symptoms, acute gout also comes with some systemic symptoms such as fatigue, high fever, headache … May appear white lumps under the skin in the affected joint area. If broken, it can cause a very dangerous infection.
Is gout dangerous?
When infected with any disease, the patient will also face certain dangers depending on the stage of disease progression. For acute gout, this is the stage of the disease that has not caused much danger to human life, it simply causes pain and discomfort.
If the disease is well controlled, there will be less recurrence and not too dangerous anymore. However, if the disease is not well controlled, in the long run it will make the disease turn into a chronic stage that is difficult to treat, even causing dangerous complications such as damage, deformity, high blood pressure, and infarction. myocardial blood, cerebrovascular accident, stiffness … even threatens human life.
How to diagnose acute gout
To diagnose acute gout, in addition to examining the clinical signs, the patient may be ordered to perform some of the following tests for the doctor to give the most accurate diagnosis.
- Blood test : A blood test is the most common way to determine if you have gout. Through the mechanism to determine how much uric acid in the blood is, if it rises above the allowable threshold, it means gout and vice versa.
- Joint fluid test : The doctor will perform suction puncture of joint fluid at the injured joint and suspect the gout joint to take fluid for testing and analysis. If the results show the appearance of urate crystals, the redness is infected and vice versa.
Treatment regimen for acute gout
Regimen for drug-level gout treatment
In most cases of acute gout, what is most needed right now is to relieve the pain and overcome the symptoms. At this time, your doctor will prescribe you with a number of drugs that work to inhibit acute gout attacks according to the principle of “fast – strong – early – short” to achieve effectiveness without causing side effects. .
- Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) : The drug has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, protecting the joints from getting worse. In the first time, patients can use drugs at high doses to have a strong impact on inflammation in the joints, then reduce the dose to low as directed by the doctor. Note, in the process of using this drug can cause some side effects such as stomach ulcers, stomach pain … Common anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used as Diclofenac 50mg x 3-4 times / day. in 3 – 7 days.
- Colchicine : This is one of the medicines used to treat gout that is effective in pain relief. However, the downside of this drug is that it causes some side effects such as nausea and diarrhea when using high doses and exceeding the time limit. This drug will help to achieve very good therapeutic effects within the first 24 hours with a dose of 2-6mg / day for the first time and a maintenance dose of 1-2mg / day. Use a maintenance dose of 1mg until all pain is gone and uric acid index is within a safe range (<300 mmol / L or <5 mg / dL).
- Corticosteroids : This drug has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, so if it is indicated to use this drug, the patient will not need to use the two drugs above. However, should absolutely adhere to the dose as directed by the doctor, because the side effects of the drug can cause increased blood pressure, increased blood sugar if continuously used at high doses. Corticosteroids are only used when the above drugs are ineffective or have contraindications to MethylPrednisolon 32mg (or Prednisolon 40mg) / day, use time from 3-5 days and gradually decrease and then stop completely after 10 – 14 days. In addition, it is possible to inject into the sac when the inflammation occurs only in one joint: Methylprednisolone acetate 20-40m / joint depending on the large or small joint.
* Note : The use of Western drugs must strictly comply with the doctor’s dose, absolutely do not arbitrarily take pain relievers or antibiotics because Western drugs have huge side effects, gout has not been cured. has caused you to develop other medical problems.
Treatment of acute gout with Oriental medicine
Nowadays, more and more people tend to choose to apply traditional medicine to treat gout to avoid side effects, benign and can be used for a long time.
In Oriental medicine, gout, also known as gout, occurs due to rheumatism, welding and leprosy penetrates in and affects the functions of the viscera. When the organs are weakened, it will lead to gas stagnation, congestion and sputum obstruction and cause disease with symptoms of red swollen joints, fever, projections, yellow tongue moss, oil, hypotenuse, and function.
Some precious herbs grown in nature have analgesic, anti-inflammatory and lower blood uric acid levels in a natural and benign manner, such as cotamulosa, rhubarb, trellum, earthen …
- Treatment 1 : Prepare 1g bitter melon, 2g spleen, 4g of root and 3g of banana seed. All the medicinal herbs take the gold star down to earth, on average every 10g of medicine is made into 1 pack. Every day, use 2-3 packs of braised tea to get water to drink until symptoms subside.
- Remedy 2 : Prepare quince, royal, majestic, depicting room, room, sand base, earthenware, 12g each, 12g each, 20g each, 4g licorice, 3 fruits Apple … Put all the ingredients in a sharp pot with 5 cups of water, wait until the amount of water in the pot is about 3 cups, then filter for drinking water 3 times a day.
- Exercise 3 : Prepare 50g of self-falling golden millet leaves and wash off with water to drink instead of tea daily. According to scientific studies, the cannabis leaves have the effect of stimulating to increase uric acid excretion from the body through the urinary tract.
* Note: Oriental medicine remedies for insomnia are very safe, do not cause side effects and are effective for the stage of acute gout when the disease has not changed seriously. However, its disadvantage is that its effectiveness is slow due to the time it takes for the natural ingredients to penetrate and take effect.
Regimen for the treatment of acute gout through living regimen
According to statistics from surveys shows that there are many causes of gout, but the biggest one is due to poor eating habits and a poor lifestyle. Therefore, the most effective regimen for acute gout should be combined with a healthy lifestyle and diet.
- Avoid eating foods rich in protein, containing many purines such as animal organs, liver, kidneys, heart, brain …, red meats such as beef, pork, lamb and even bacon or fish rice, herring, sardines …, fish sauce and alcohol …
- Instead, eat more foods that improve inflammation, such as tomatoes, green leafy vegetables like cruciferous vegetables, spinach, kale, olive oil, and strawberry fruits like strawberries, blueberries, cherries …; nuts such as walnuts, macca, almonds, fish such as salmon, mackerel …; low-fat or skim milk …
- Every day drink at least 2-3 liters of water because water will help dilute the content of uric acid in the blood and easier to be eliminated.
- During the onset of pain, it is best to limit movement, exercise vigorously or too much to avoid affecting the joints.
- When the pain stops, look for gentle and healthy exercise such as walking, yoga … to ensure stable health.
- Use ice to apply ice to the sore area for quick relief without resorting to medication.
- Visits to specialist medical facilities to get an accurate diagnosis and to comply with the treatment prescribed by the doctor.
Treat acute gout to prevent recurrence
In addition to symptom-based acute gout treatment, another very important factor is proactive prevention of gout recurrence. The goal of preventing gout from returning is to control and stabilize blood uric acid levels, which is the direct cause of gout.
Patients who have got rid of acute gout attacks but are subjective and do not focus on preventing relapse can still come back many times and lead to chronic gout episodes . At this time, the treatment will be very difficult because there are many more dangerous complications than the first stage.
To be able to prevent recurrence of acute gout, patients need to make some following notes:
- Use Colchicine and uric acid lowering drugs as prescribed by your doctor to control the deposition of urate in the blood.
- Natural herbs are recommended for immediate uric acid reduction.
- Develop diet and activities, and learn to rest.
- Keep the spirit always, happy, avoid stress and excessive stress.
It can be said that gout is not only a common metabolic disorder but also a cause of many serious health-ruining complications. So, visit hospitals, medical facilities to find the best treatment solution, depending on the condition of each patient, the doctor will propose appropriate treatment regimen and achieve early results. possible.
