Friends often ask [how to treat gout and how to reduce uric acid]?
I believe some of them have already seen a doctor, just because the doctor is too busy to explain in detail, so I have a lot of doubts and nowhere to ask.
However, some friends found that uric acid was high in physical examination and had not seen a doctor seriously. They were struggling with the problem of whether to take medicine.
Other friends, who may have arthralgia such as fingers and toes, heard the word [gout] from other people’s mouths and felt very much like the disease, so they came to a gout doctor for verification.
No matter which kind of situation, let’s talk about how to deal with these situations better.
Is arthralgia gout?
First of all, it is either arthralgia or gout. If you suspect that you are a friend of gout, you should go to rheumatology department or endocrinology department. Doctors will judge by medical history, blood uric acid examination, etc.
If it is gout, you have to adjust your lifestyle and take uric acid-lowering drugs when necessary.
Found that uric acid is high, do you want to take medicine?
First of all, gout doctors cannot decide [whether to take medicine] through the Internet, because such decisions need to consider specific uric acid levels, hypertension, diabetes and other factors.
It is suggested that friends with blood uric acid > 420 mol/L should consult rheumatology, immunology or endocrinology doctors face to face, so as to be reliable and at ease.
Doctors usually follow the following principles.
1. Uric acid is high and gout has occurred, so you have to take medicine.
If uric acid is high and gout occurs, it is essential to take medicine to reduce uric acid.
2. Uric acid is high and there is no other abnormality. Score
Some friends only have high uric acid, but they have not had gout, nor have they had gout, kidney stones, renal dysfunction, etc. For these people, they need to consider the level of blood uric acid and cardiovascular risk factors.
If there are cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes at the same time, and the blood uric acid is > 480 mol/L, medication must be considered to reduce uric acid.
If the doctor believes that [there are no cardiovascular risk factors] after evaluation, when the blood uric acid is > 540 mol/L, the medicine should be started to reduce uric acid.
3. In other cases, attention should be paid to reexamination.
Friends who do not meet the above conditions and do not meet the medication standards should not take them lightly. They should pay attention to improving their lifestyle and rechecking their blood uric acid. If uric acid increases or other abnormalities occur, they should consider taking medicine for treatment.
If uric acid is high but you don’t need to take medicine, you should adjust your lifestyle.
For those with high uric acid but who do not need to take medicine for the time being after the doctor’s evaluation, attention should be paid to adjusting their lifestyle [shut up, keep their legs open, lose weight, drink more water and forbid alcohol and drink].
Shut up, including limiting high purine and high fructose foods. Take your legs, that is, pay attention to exercise, which is good for reducing uric acid.
Obese people often have metabolic abnormalities and are more likely to suffer from gout, diabetes and other diseases, so losing weight and controlling weight are also beneficial.
Sufficient drinking water can help uric acid excretion, but alcoholic drinks can affect uric acid metabolism and even induce gout.
In addition to paying attention to lifestyle adjustment, friends with high uric acid also pay attention to regular physical examination, reexamination of blood uric acid, blood sugar, blood pressure, blood lipid, etc. Only in this way can one master one’s health and find out the aggravation of the disease as early as possible.
Uric acid is high, gout, take what medicine best?
Drugs for treating hyperuricemia and gout can be roughly divided into three categories:
- One is uric acid-lowering drugs, such as allopurinol, febulistat, benzbromarone, etc. The second is analgesic drugs during gout attacks, such as colchicine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and glucocorticoids. The third is sodium bicarbonate tablets that alkalize urine and other drugs that assist in reducing uric acid.
As for which medicine is the best? The answer to the question varies from person to person. This is just like the same mobile phone, some people say it is easy to use, others say it is not easy to use.
Different people have different constitutions and conditions. The same drug has different curative effects and [side effects] on different people. For example, allopurinol and feibustat can reduce uric acid, but feibustat is better for people with poor kidney function, but the price is higher than allopurinol.
Therefore, there is no best medicine, only the most suitable medicine. Doctors can only know which medicine is most suitable after analyzing the results of individual illness, blood uric acid, liver and kidney function, etc.
In taking uric acid lowering drugs, attention should be paid to the following three points
1. Take medicine and don’t forget to adjust your lifestyle.
Some friends will think that since they are taking medicine, uric acid will definitely drop and gout will definitely be well controlled.
In fact, this idea is wrong, and the cause of gout is not particularly clear, but current research believes that high purine diet, obesity, alcoholism, etc. are all related to gout.
While taking medicine, it is also essential to actively adjust the lifestyle.
2. Uric acid has dropped to normal, which is not enough.
A drop in uric acid or 420 mol/L does not mean gout is under control.
For those without tophus, the blood uric acid should be reduced to 360 mol/L; For those with tophus, it should be reduced to 300 mol/L. Only in this way can the formed urate crystals be dissolved to avoid tophus and kidney damage.
3. After uric acid drops to the target value, the drug cannot be stopped.
After uric acid dropped to the target value, many patients stopped the acid-lowering drugs in ecstasy. As a result, uric acid rose again and gout began to attack again before long.
When uric acid drops to the target value, the correct approach should be: continue to use the medicine at the original dose. If uric acid can continue to reach the standard, under the supervision of doctors, the dosage can be considered to be reduced.