No one else in my family has this. I am a 60-year-old male and otherwise quite healthy. Can you give me advice as to what food to avoid and other information about this condition?
The affected joint can feel as though it is on fire. It can affect other joints as well, usually in the feet, wrists, hands and knees.
It can easily be confused with other forms of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, but the red big toe is a classic symptom of gout.
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It can be confirmed by a simple blood test that measures the level of uric acid in the blood, but the test results are not always reliable because there can be false positives or false negatives.
There is a more reliable but unpleasant test that involves using a needle to draw a fluid sample from one of the affected joints. When examined under the microscope, crystals of urates can be seen.
Symptoms usually resolve to some extent in about two weeks without treatment, but the underlying problem of excessive uric acid in the blood needs to be addressed with the medication allupurinol.
Because the initial attack is so painful, a type of anti-inflammatory painkiller is often used along with possible injections of corticosteroids into the joint or taken by mouth. Another drug, colchicine, may be given as a second line of treatment. It is made from a substance originally found in wild crocuses.
It is important that your gout is treated because without medical intervention there can be permanent damage to the joints.
Further attacks of gout can be prevented by being careful about your diet, which should be low fat and low protein.
Beef and seafood, particularly shellfish, are high in purines, which seem to increase the chance of getting gout, but high-purine vegetables such as asparagus, cauliflower, peas and spinach do not seem to make much difference.
Adding a daily vitamin C tablet may help, as well as increasing consumption of dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt.
You should also try to avoid soft drinks that contain large amounts of fructose made from corn syrup. Studies have also shown that beer is worse than spirits.
