How do I know if I have gout? 3 Things you Should Know!

Gout has been around since the early days of mankind.  It crosses all socioeconomic boundaries.  If you or someone you know thinks they might have gout here are three things you should know about this terribly painful disease.

1.  How do I know if I have gout? Gout can inflame any joint, but is more common in the lower joints such as the big toe, foot, and ankle.  It tends to come on suddenly. Night time is the most common beginning for a gout attack.  Gout causes intense pain.  Even slight movement or something insignificant touching your sore joint causes incredible pain.  If you wake up at night and your foot or ankle is really sore and you do not remember injuring it, chances are you might be having a gout attack.

2. How to avoid it. Whether you are new to gout or are a chronic patient, there are things you can do to avoid this disease.  You can certainly make it occur less.  Avoiding foods high in purine content is probably the best way to avoid gout.  High purine foods/drinks such as alcohol and organ meat increase uric acid concentration in the body resulting in deposits in your joints that cause gout.  Keeping an healthy weight is a great way to help avoid this problem, as most gout patients are either overweight or obese.  Many of the foods that cause gout are unhealthy so try to maintain good dietary habits.

3. What to do if you do get a gout attack. There are several ways to treat gout.  You can do it through modern medicine.  If you don’t want to see a doctor, you can try anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen.  This will not fix the underlying problem causing your gout, but it can help you get through an attack.  Make sure you do not take too much.  Follow the directions.  If this doesn’t calm down your attack, you should see your doctor.  They will give you a medication such as indomethacin.  This works like ibuprofen in that it’s anti-inflammatory.  It is just stronger than ibuprofen.

If you don’t like taking pills, there are several natural gout cures you can take to help get you through an attack.  They can work more slowly, but they do work.  Cherries are probably the most popular.  The anthocyanins in the cherries are helpful in blocking pain receptors.  You can also try cherry juice for gout pain if cherries are not in season.

Knowing if you have gout is the first step, once you do that, try to avoid high purine foods and consider seeking your doctor or trying natural remedies for gout and you should be able to keep your gout under control.

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