What Causes Gout

Nobody wants to be inflicted with gout. Not only does this cause unsightly formations on your skin, but it is also unhealthy. It is more common among men because they often have higher levels of uric acid in their blood as compared with women. But no matter what your gender is, it is still important to learn about what gout is and what causes gout. This way, you will be able to avoid having this disorder in the future.

What is a Gout?

Yes, you may have heard of it before and you may have seen it already. But many people are still not very knowledgeable about this. What exactly is gout? It refers to a condition wherein uric acid deposits form in your joints because of your escalated uric acid level. Aside from this main symptom, you may also experience severe pain in the joints, itchy and peeling skin, redness and swelling in the affected areas, the inability to move as freely and easily as before, and fever.

Whenever the uric acid in your blood reaches a certain excessive level, this leads to the formation of urate crystals in the joint areas. This means that instead of the uric acid getting flushed out by your kidney in your urine, the excess is left and may accumulate. The kidneys cannot work that hard to excrete that much, which is why it leads to what is known as a gout attack.

In the first place, if gout runs in your family, the tendency for it to pass onto you is very high. Thus, you have to be extra cautious in its prevention.

But aside from genetics, many people who are obese have been found to have these gout attacks. They have more tissue that needs to be broken down, which is why extra uric acid is produced.

Drinking a lot of alcohol is also risky since this interferes with the kidneys' function of getting rid of the uric acid. Furthermore, constant or frequent intake of aspirin and foods rich in purines also tend to intensify gout.

Some examples of purine-rich foods are organ meat, legumes, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, anchovies, yeast, and beer. Take note that you need not completely stay away from these foods unless you have been told to do so by the doctor because your uric acid level is on the borderline already. Otherwise, you can simply take them in moderation.

When you research on what causes gout, you are sure to encounter these very common causes. But other than these, there are also other things that may aggravate or lead to gout. For instance, there are some people who experience gout attacks because of suffering from certain conditions or because of certain medications.

The customary ailments associated with gout include myeloma, hemolytic anemia, hypothyroidism, psoriasis, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and tumors. On top of these conditions, the Kelley-Seegmiller Syndrome as well as the Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome have are also known to bring about gout. And sometimes too, having a surgery may also cause the gout attack. In addition, being exposed to lead has also been proven to lead to this.

Upon learning about what causes gout, you must be careful to avoid these things as much as you can. Remember that prevention is always better than cure. Consequently, you must try to live a healthy life by regularly eating nutritious food, staying away from vices especially the excessive consumption of alcohol, and engaging in regular exercise too. This way, you will be able to promote the overall health of your body. You will then be able to stay away from gout attacks and other ailments in the process.

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