HealthyCanada.com

Gout is a painful and potentially disabling form of arthritis that affects about half a million Canadians approximately 1 in 30 people. It usually affects one joint at a time. Gout and its complications occur more often in men between the ages of 30 and 50 in women after menopause and in people with kidney disease. Gout is strongly associated with obesity high blood pressure diabetes and a higher number of lipids in the blood stream. There is no cure for gout but it can be controlled with medication.

Gout comes and goes with the first episode often occurring at night and lasting for a week or so before disappearing. You're likely to experience:

• sudden severe joint pain and swelling
• shiny red or purple skin around the joint
• extreme tenderness in the joint area

Without treatment you'll have more episodes like this and they'll last longer. This repeated inflammation can eventually damage the joints.

Gout occurs when a normal waste product called uric acid accumulates in the body either because too much is being produced or the kidneys aren't doing a good job of flushing it out. The condition is believed to be hereditary. Certain foods and medications can increase uric acid levels and over time this can create crystal deposits in and around the joints which results in swelling and pain and other symptoms of gout.

An episode of gout can be triggered by:

• drinking too much alcohol
• eating too much of certain foods
• surgery
• sudden severe illness
• crash diets
• joint injury
• chemotherapy

Before treatment can begin your doctor will have to make a proper diagnosis. This isn't as easy as it sounds because several other kinds of arthritis can mimic gout. Because uric acid levels in the blood can be misleading he may need to extract fluid from an affected joint to determine if crystals are present.

The goal of treatment is to provide relief in the short term while preventing future episodes. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that can decrease inflammation and pain in joints and other tissues have become the treatment choice for most acute attacks of gout. Depending on the severity of your gout a cortisone injection might be necessary.

Your doctor will also want you to watch your diet. You'll have to avoid foods that may trigger an episode and drink plenty of water or other non-alcoholic beverages every day to flush excess uric acid from your system.

Additional Resources:

The Arthritis Society