Gout And The Risk Of Kidney Stones

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

Despite what joints may be affected by gout, this particular form of arthritis can cause another complication ? kidney stones.

What are kidney stones and what causes them? Kidney stones are small masses that are rock-like in substance. They can be small enough to be passed through urination, or large enough to block the flow of urine. Passing kidney stones is often an extremely painful experience that most people don?t soon forget. Kidney stones can occur for different reasons. However, in the case of gout, kidney stones form as a result of too much uric acid in the urine.

Who is most at risk for developing kidney stones? Essentially, anyone who has recurring cases of gout is at risk for developing kidney stones. However, middle aged men, and the elderly (both women and men) are more likely to develop kidney stones, due to the fact that they are the primary gout sufferers, and have higher levels of uric acid.

Furthermore, kidney stones are most likely to occur in those who suffer from secondary gout and primary gout. Approximately 42% of those diagnosed with secondary gout will experience kidney stones. However, only 10 ? 25% of primary gout sufferers will develop stones.

Why is the risk so much higher for secondary gout sufferers? The reason is because unlike those who have primary gout - high levels of uric acid without a known cause, those with secondary gout have high levels of uric acid because of their long-term medication (IE. diuretics, aspirin, levodopa, etc.) or health condition (IE. alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, kidney dysfunction, etc.)

Additionally, people who have experienced kidney stones are more likely to develop stones again in the future.

What are the signs and symptoms of kidney stones? Although in some cases there may be no symptoms at all, most people who suffer kidney stones report the following:
- Sudden extreme painful cramping that occurs in the lower back, side, groin or abdomen.
- Nausea or vomiting caused by severe pain
- Blood in urine
- Fever and chills may occur if there is an infection in the urinary tract

If you have any of the above symptoms, you should visit your doctor or the emergency room to make sure that what you are experiencing is indeed kidney stones.

How are kidney stones treated? Although the sudden onset of pain may compel you to take a trip to the emergency room, the chances are after you?ve been x-rayed and diagnosed, a doctor will likely prescribe you pain medication and tell you to drink plenty of water and wait for the kidney stone to pass naturally. Most stones pass within 48 hours when significant fluid is ingested. Symptoms should stop as soon as stones pass.

If the stone will not pass naturally due to its size, a doctor may perform:
- Lithotripsy ? A common procedure that uses a shock wave to break up the large stone into small pieces so they can be passed.
- Surgery ? there are a few techniques used to surgically remove the stones. These surgeries are often uncomplicated.

How to prevent uric acid kidney stones ? The following are ways a gout sufferer can reduce their risk of developing stones:

- Avoid or limit alcohol intake
- Eliminate or limit foods in your diet that raise uric acid levels such as: organ meat, red meat, shellfish, mushrooms, asparagus, dried peas and beans, etc.
- Drink plenty of water and stay well hydrated all the time
- Exercise regularly
- Loose weight realistically ? If you are overweight or obese avoid crash diets to lose weight quickly. Losing weight too fast can cause a rise in uric acid levels and increase the risk of stones.
- Medication ? Talk to your doctor about medication that can help lower and control uric acid levels.

By Lisa McDowell. Sign up for a free newsletter & discover whether you are experiencing a gout symptom. On the site you'll also find more on proven gout remedy options

Prevent And Treat Gout Symptom Complications

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

Gout is a form or arthritis, which can attack very suddenly. When a gout attack occurs the inflamed joint becomes very red, swollen and painful. To treat gout symptom issues there are a number of steps that you can take which are effective.

Firstly, you need to have the gout diagnosed. It is important to know that the pain and swelling you are experiencing is indeed gout and not another form of arthritis or infection.

The procedure to check if you have gout is straightforward, and involves a medical professional taking a sample of fluid from the effected joint and checking for uric acid crystals.

Once you have the gout diagnosis confirmed by a medical professional you could start to consider ways to treat the condition.

Many doctors will recommend one of the following medication options:

NSAIDS will often be prescribed to reduce the pain. It is a group of anti-inflammatory medications that helps to reduce inflammation, swelling and pain.

The other options are medications that focus on preventing rather than treating the symptoms. These medications, such as allopurinal and probenecid, target the production and removal of uric acid from the body.

If using drugs to manage your gout does not appeal to you due to the potential side effects, then you can adopt a gout-friendly diet that limits foods with high levels of purine.

Consuming too much purine is one of the most common reason for developing gout. As purine is a compound found in much of our food and in our tissues in or body, and when it is broken down and metabolized, it produces uric acid.

It is excess uric acid that causes gout symptoms, as rather than being eliminated as waste via the kidneys, the extra uric acid stays in the bloodstream. This results in a build up of uric acid crystals in the spaces between the joints, usually in the foot and big toe joints. It is these sharp crystals which cause the painful inflammation and redness.

Foods with very high purine levels such as offal, meats, gravies, shellfish and dried legumes should be avoided. Try replacing them with gout-friendly foods such as cereal based food, corn, eggs, dairy products and fruit.

If you're a gout sufferer and overweight, now is the time to really get serious about losing those extra pounds. Being overweight can add to gout complications as carrying excess weight impacts on the kidneys ability to process the increased levels of uric acid.

Drinking sufficient liquids is also vital for optimum liver function. You need to be drinking 6 - 8 eight-ounce glasses of preferably water a day. Or if you do not like to drink water, tea and fruit juices are okay to include in your quota. Staying hydrated is important and means that your urine is diluted, allowing your kidneys to expel the extra uric acid.

When suffering from gout it's also worth limiting your alcohol intake, particularly beer as it contains high purine levels. And, it is worth noting that any alcohol will impair the ability of the body to process and remove excess uric acid.

These tips should be able to see how to prevent and treat gout symptom complications. For more information on all aspects of gout please visit our site.

Sign up for the FREE gout cure newsletter you and find out how to treat gout symptom problems. Understand more about the natural gout treatments available to you.

4 Tips You Must Know About Low Purine Diets For Gout

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

If you have been living with the painful symptoms of gout for a while or this is the first time you have suffered from swelling, stiffness and pain in the joints, you have no doubt come across people telling you about low purine diets for gout.

Gout is relatively common, and can usually be treated successfully, without having to resort to pharmaceutical drugs. Some quick and simple changes to your lifestyle can reduce and even eliminate your gout symptoms.

Following a low purine diet has been shown to reduce the level of purine in the body, and this in turn reduces the levels of uric acid being produced.

Uric acid is a natural by-product that is produced when the body breaks down purine, so less purine in the body means that the kidney's can work to get the body back into balance by eliminating the excess uric acid as waste.

It is interesting to note that purine is naturally present in the tissues of our body, and it is only when there is an excess of purine, often caused by a diet rich in foods with high purine levels that the uric acid builds up.
A further danger of excess uric acid is the formation of kidney stones. These can be very painful and can also further reduce the ability of the body to expel waste uric acid.

So, when starting out on a low purine diet for gout, there are a few things that you should bear in mind.

1. Eat a balanced diet, which should be high in complex carbohydrates, low in protein and fat.
2. Eat food that have a moderate to low purine levels, such as most vegetables, fruit, cereals, white breads and avoid foods that are high in purine like meat extracts, shellfish, offal (liver, kidney's, brains, sweetmeats), gravies, dried beans.
3. Avoid alcohol as much as possible, as alcohol consumption can this can cause gout flare-ups.
4. Drink 2 - 3 liters of water per day, as this will help dilute the uric acid in the body and allow the kidneys to regain control.

Further information about natural gout diets can be found on our web site.

Of course, the adoption of a low purine diet may seem like quite a sacrifice, especially as it can be different to the typical western diet. However, many gout sufferers see the inconvenience of a new diet as a small price to pay to relieve themselves of the pain and discomfort of gout.

Indeed, many gout sufferers change their diet for life so that they never again suffer a gout flare up.

So, when creating low purine diets for gout sufferers you love, or changing your lifestyle to include a new gout diet, keep in mind that the sooner that the above strategies are adopted the sooner you can get relief from relief from gout symptoms.

Sign up for our newsletter here and discover information on low purine diets for gout relief or check out or site for more information on natural gout cures

Finding a Diet to Fight Gout

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

Gout is a condition that affects millions of Americans and as yet, there is no single cure. It can be treated, however but may occur from time to time, depending on the individual's exposure to risk factors. One of these factors affecting gout is diet.

As in most conditions, diet plays a major role in the regulation of body functions and in promoting healing. A gout diet mainly promotes the reduction of purine intake and decreasing the production of uric acid in the body. A diet designed to manage gout goes hand-in-hand with other treatments that a patient may be using to alleviate the symptoms.

The link with obesity A study in 1986 and a follow-up study in 1998 indicates that compared to those who were overweight, men who lost at least 10 lbs. had a nearly 40% chance of lowering the risk of gout. People who are considered obese are nearly 5 times more likely to develop gout than does with average weight and people with hypertension are twice as likely of developing it.

Losing weight and maintaining it within recommended range will also help ease the burden from the joints.

Water Preventing a gout attack may be as simple as drinking 8 glasses of water everyday. Water aids in flushing toxins out of the body and keeping the kidneys in top condition. With enough fluid intake, the body can excrete uric acid better through urine and prevent the formation of uric acid crystals.

Fruit juices On top of the water intake, fresh fruit juices can also help combat the increase in uric acid levels.

Eat your fruits and vegetables While some vegetables like dried beans and peas are not recommended for gout sufferers, there are others that can help improve a patient's condition. These are vegetables that are rich in flavonoids including apigenin like thyme, peppermint and parsley. Fruits like cherries, blueberries and blackberries may also help.

Go easy on the purine Foods rich in purine include red meats ? pork, beef, lamb and venison. Organ meats like liver, kidneys and tripe are also high in purine. Seafoods like mackerel, herring and anchovies and shellfish like mussels and oysters can also trigger an attack or aggravate the condition.

If purine-rich foods cannot be avoided (it is also present in poultry), best keep it to a low minimum ? not more than 6 oz. per day. As an alternative, tofu may be a better choice, since soybeans is a good source of protein and does not contain purine.

Go for the good fats Fatty acids found in fish like salmon, for example, have anti-inflammatory properties. The same benefit can also be found in nuts, flax oil and olive oil.

Drink moderately If you can, it's better to avoid alcohol and beer altogether. Alcohol is a prime promoter of purine metabolism and can induce the body to produce more uric acid. It also will block the body's ability to excrete these harmful substances. However, there's some good news. Wine has not been linked to gout and may be consumed in moderate amounts without increasing the risk.

Too much sweets and junk A diet high in simple carbohydrates and fructose or table sugar may also cause gout, along with the salts and additives found in junk food. If you have the condition, best eliminate these from your diet. A decrease in intake will also help you reduce weight.

Take supplements Maintaining a diet that is low on purine has its drawback. It may deprive the body of precious vitamins and minerals that are otherwise present in purine-rich foods. Vitamins like E and B complex help the body regulate its functions and are essential in fighting gout. In this case, taking supplements may be necessary.

B-complex vitamins and folic acid must be taken in divided doses daily to help neutralize uric acid. Vitamin E may be taken in low doses initially and increased gradually to help supplement the diet. In the first stages of a gout attack, taking a high dose of Vitamin C may also help.

Other supplements worth looking into are magnesium citrate to relieve spasms, L-glutamine and L-glycine to reduce acids, L-methionine to detoxify high-purine level foods and fish oil to bring down the swelling.

Gout patients don?t need to suffer for the rest of their lives because of gout. It will continue to exist, true, but it can be controlled as long as a sensible diet is followed. Remember that we are what we eat and while genetics can play a role in some individuals, what we do to ourselves ultimately determines our overall health.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://gout.topicgiant.com where you can learn more about gout as well as how to relieve symptoms of gout.

Gout Treatments to Get Rid of That Ouch!

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

A large number of people in all parts of the world suffer from a common form of arthritis known as gout. In the United Kingdom alone, an estimated 600,000 people are afflicted with this painful disease. Fortunately, there are many gout treatments that are available. Choosing the right one would depend on the patient's specific condition; whether he is suffering from acute or chronic gout. A physician may prescribe medication to treat a sudden attack or to manage the condition in the long-term. The goal of gout treatments is fast pain relief and of course, the prevention of recurrence.

Gout occurs mostly in men who are 45 years and older. Typically, many sufferers are overweight and drink alcoholic beverages regularly. The disease can also occur in women (although in much smaller numbers) who are usually at the post-menopausal stage. Some of the historical figures who have suffered from gout include former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, England's King Henry VIII, and the poet Pablo Neruda. The disease usually affects only one joint at a time and largely affects the joint of the big toe, although it can also occur in the ankles, legs, knees, feet, wrists, elbows, and hands. The slightest bit of pressure on the afflicted joint can bring on intense and stabbing pain.

A person may develop gout if he has excessively high uric acid levels in his body, which are not flushed out. Little uric crystals resembling table salt will then form and lodge in the lining of joints and irritate and inflame them. Purines, a kind of chemical that is found in the body and in many kinds of food, play a major role in the elevation of uric acid levels; that's why nutritionists and physicians advise those suffering from gout to lessen their consumption of purine-rich foods, such as so-called organ meats (liver and kidneys), herring, anchovies, and beans. Also, patients should refrain from drinking alcohol, since alcohol can hinder the body's elimination of uric acid.

For rapid pain relief and reduced swelling, doctors will usually prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin or naproxen. Patients with a greater severity of pain might benefit from steroid drugs like prednisone. These medications, and others such as colchicine, are used to relieve pain and swelling, but they do nothing to lower the body's uric acid levels. For long-term prevention of attacks, a physician will prescribe other types of medication. These may include allopurinol, probenecid, and sulfinpyrazone. In many cases, a patient may take a combination of these drugs both to treat sudden flare-ups and for preventive purposes.

There are also a number of gout treatments that make use of the principles of natural or herbal medicine. Many dietary supplements that contain natural ingredients are recommended to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. For instance, turmeric, ginger, and bromelain have strong anti-inflammatory properties. The bark of phellodendron also has similar properties, but it should not be taken internally -- it is applied directly to the skin above the inflamed joint. Dietary supplements that contain fish oils and other essential fatty acids are also recommended for gout sufferers, since they help bring down the body's uric acid levels.

Getting adequate intake of vitamins and minerals is important, but it seems that some vitamins and minerals are more effective than others in providing pain relief and preventing the recurrence of gout. Research shows that vitamin C can help the body get rid of excess uric acid faster, while folic acid can lower the body's uric acid levels. Vitamin E, on the other hand, helps inhibit leukotrienes, which can increase inflammation and promote tissue damage.

Some treatments can seem unusual at first glance, but many swear that they work. For instance, anecdotal evidence suggests that eating about half a pound of cherries a day or drinking lots of cherry juice can significantly reduce pain and swelling. Another home remedy involves the use of a charcoal poultice; it's believed that charcoal draws certain chemicals from the afflicted joint, thus reducing pain and swelling. Then there are those who recommend that people suffering from gout should eat an apple after every meal, drink diluted lime juice three times a day, or drink string bean juice everyday for one month.

Some of these gout treatments may sound funny, while others have the full backing of the medical community behind them. Before you decide to embark on any treatment regimen, consult your physician, who will be best able to map out a plan to rid you of the pain of gout in the fastest and safest possible manner.

Rheumatiq.com provides you with information on rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis help, the symptoms, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, causes of gout, and gout treatments. We help battle your pain. http://www.rheumatiq.com