As a person become older, there are many types of problems through which they can suffer. Among all the health problems, there is a problem called arthritis. In this problem, a person suffers from stiffness and joint pains, which sometimes lead to the swelling of the joints. This type of problem increases with age.
When this problem becomes Complex, it may turn into another problem called Gout. The problem of Gout is characterized by the sudden attack of pain, redness swelling, and tenderness in the joints. During this problem, the person feels the sensation of Fire on his or her big toe. The effective joint is hot, swollen, and so tender that it may not tolerate even the weight of a sheet.
Symptoms of Gout:
- Long discomfort
Later, this pain may last for longer and can even pass to other joints also.
- Intense pain in joints
Gout is characterized by intense pain in Big toe, but it can occur in any joint. The common joint includes knees, Ankle, fingers, and wrist. For approximately 4 to 12 hours.
- Redness
There is always redness and swelling around the affected joint.
CAUSES:
Due to the accumulation of urate crystals in the joints, the inflammation and intense pain can arise a gout attack. It may also occur when there is a high level of uric acid in a person’s body but sometimes when the body produces too much of the Uric acid and the kidney excretes too Little of the Uric acid then this leads to the formation of small crystals or the urate crystals. Which led to the pain, inflammation, and swelling of the joint.
Diagnosis:
Many tests could help to diagnose the Gout.
- Blood test
The person should go for a blood test after the prescription of a doctor to check the level of uric acid that retain in the blood. The blood test report may be misleading as some persons do not have the problem of gout but are suffering from a high level of uric acid in the blood.
- X-ray imaging
The person can also go for an x-ray of the affected joint, which is suffering from inflammation.
- Dual-energy CT scan
Through this test, the person can check the presence of urate crystals in a joint even when they are not accumulated.
Treatment of Gout:
Proper medication is prescribed for Gout treatment. And the medication should be according to the current health of the person and also their preference. The medication can be used to prevent acute attacks in the future. This can also reduce the risk of complications to Gout, such as the development of further urate crystals around the joints.
- Corticosteroids
This type of medication may control inflammation and pain due to gout. This may be in the form of pills or can be injected into the joint. There are also some Side effects of this type of drugs which usually includes mood swings, increase in blood sugar level and even the fluctuation of blood pressure
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
These types of drugs generally include Advil, and other drugs like naproxen, sodium as well as more powerful prescriptions such as endometrial. The doctor may prescribe a higher dose of such medications to stop the severe attack. There are also some side effects like bleeding, ulcers, and stomach pain.
- Colchicine
The doctor may also prescribe this type is medication. It includes a kind of pain reliever which may help in reducing the pain of Gout .this drug is useful as it may reduce the pain but has some Side Effects like nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting especially if there taken in heavy dosage.
Use of Specific types of medications to prevent gout complications. These include:-
- Medication that improves Uric acid removal
In this type of medication, certain drugs help in uric acid removal from the blood. This drug improves the Kidneys ability to remove the Uric acid from your body. This may prove to help lower the Uric acid level and also reduces the risk of Gout but sometimes led to an increase in the Uric acid level in urine. There are also specific Side Effects like Rash, kidney stones, and stomach pain.
- Medication that blocks uric acid production
There are also certain drugs doctors provide as the medication which may help in the blockage of uric acid production. This may reduce the blood uric acid level and also reduces the risk of Gout. There are also specific Side effects of this like a rash and low blood counts. There are also some other side effects like nausea, reduce liver function, and increased risk of heart-related deaths.
Dr. Bhupendra Vaishnav is one of the most rheumatologist doctor in Jaipur. He is having more than 7 years of experience in Gout Treatment in Jaipur.