What is Gout ?

Gout is the symptomatic manifestation caused by deposition of urate in tissues and raised uric acid level in blood. Uric acid is the metabolite of purine which some food items such as shellfish, offal and seafood are rich in. Because of genetic predisposition, certain people are more prone to produce excess uric acid and urate if they eat excessive purine-rich food. Gouty attack can cause inflammation of joints like knee, ankle and fingers (Figure 1), most commonly the big toe (Figure 2).



Who are prone to have gouty arthritisĦH
People who suffer from gouty arthritis are usually over 40 years old and more common in men than in women. Many of them love drinking alcohol and eating foods which are rich in purine. In addition, those who have blood cancer, kidney disease or take diuretics are also prone to have gouty arthritis.

What are the symptoms?
1.Affected site becomes suddenly red, swollen, hot and intensely painful, which subsides after a few days.
2.Gout usually presents with acute inflammation of a single joint, most commonly the big toe. If the blood uric acid level is not controlled, urate will deposit in other joints like knee, ankle, fingers and the inflammation will recur frequently.
3.In severe cases, joints become deformed, resulting in chronic tophaceous gout.
4.Chronic gouty arthritis may affect kidney function and cause stones to form in the kidneys or soft tissues.

What are the treatments?
1. Gout cannot be cured. However, appropriate medication and diet restriction can prevent attacks.
2. Drinking more water (at least 8 glasses of water per day) can help the body to excrete excess urate.
3. Avoid being overweight.
4. Diet restriction should include the following:
ĦD Alcohol
ĦD Excessive meat and poultry
ĦD Excessive legume, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus
ĦD Offal such as liver, brain, kidney, heart, etc.
ĦD Seafood like shellfish, scallop, sardine, mussel, etc.
5. In acute attack of gout, drugs can reduce joint pain effectively. If gout recurs frequently, long-term medication is needed to prevent recurrent attack.