Guide to Gout: What to Know About the Painful Condition

• Updated on: 2023-09-13
• Read original article here

Join Now
Experts believe the recent rise in gout cases is linked to the increasing prevalence of obesity and  high blood pressure . Being overweight and taking diuretics for high blood pressure are both risk factors for gout.
Risk also increases with age. An estimated 13 percent of men and 6 percent of women have the disease by age 75, according to research.
Men are twice as likely to develop gout, at least until age 60, because women’s hormones help protect them from the condition, says Jasvinder Singh, M.D., a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Alabama Birmingham and director of rheumatology research at Birmingham Veterans Medical Center. After  menopause , women become more susceptible.
It brings on intense joint pain
Gout, one of the earliest recorded diseases, is caused by a buildup of extra uric acid in the body. The uric acid deposits crystals in the joints, causing swelling and extreme pain.
The most common joint affected is the one at the base of the big toe. But gout can affect any joint — including your ankle, knee or elbow — and when it does, you’ll know it.
“You’ll be normal, feel fine, and then you suddenly have this really intense pain,” says Philip Chu, M.D, a rheumatologist at Duke Health.  
AARP NEWSLETTERS
See All
See more Health & Wellness offers >

To diagnose gout, a doctor will do bloodwork to check your uric acid levels or take a fluid sample from the painful joint and look for urate crystals.
Gout attacks, called flares, usually last several days to a week. Anti-inflammatories, steroids or a medication called colchicine can ease pain during that time.
How to prevent gout attacks
After the first attack, some patients may not experience a second one for five to 15 years, Singh says. But the third one will usually happen faster, within six months to a year. Over time, the attacks become more and more frequent.
Without treatment, gout attacks can cause stiffness, disabling joint pain, nodules that form under the skin called tophi, and eventually, permanent bone or joint damage.
Lifestyle changes such as losing weight,  giving up alcohol  and switching to a healthy diet may help prevent gout attacks. Drinking low-fat milk and eating low-fat cheese can reduce uric acid levels. And your doctor may recommend avoiding beer, seafood, sugar-sweetened juices and red meat (especially organ meats) because they are high in purines, a chemical that can incite a flare.
Lifestyle changes alone are unlikely to combat or reverse gout, however. For most patients, the best way to prevent future gout attacks is to take a uric-acid-lowering medication such as allopurinol or febuxostat, Singh says.
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) recommends the medication for patients who have had at least two flares in a year, or who have had one flare but also have high uric acid levels, certain kidney issues, tophi nodules or evidence of joint damage.
AARP Membership — LIMITED TIME OFFER Labor Day Sale
Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.