A gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by uric acid crystals that form in and around the joints.
It’s the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. It’s more common in men and you’re more likely to get it as you get older.
Gout occurs in people with high uric acid levels, also known as urate, in their blood. Urate is created every day when our bodies break down purines. Purines are chemicals that are naturally produced in our bodies, but they are also present in certain foods.
We all have urate in our blood: this is normal and healthy. But if levels become too high it may cause gout. People used to think that gout was caused by overeating and drinking too much alcohol. While this can make attacks of gout more likely, it’s not the whole story.
On any day, about three-quarters of the urate in our bodies comes from the breakdown of purines produced within our body, while only about a quarter comes from food and drink. As urate levels build up, your body removes any extra through your kidneys and in your wee. But if your body makes too much urate, or your kidneys are unable to get rid of enough of it, then levels start to rise.
If urate levels stay too high, urate crystals can slowly form. They mainly occur in and around firm joint tissues, such as the cartilage. But crystals can also appear under your skin and may even occur in your internal organs, such as the kidneys.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of gout aren’t usually noticeable unless you are having an attack of gout. Attacks of gout usually last between five and seven days, when you will experience symptoms.
What causes Gout?
There are two different types of gout. When you have it and there’s no single cause, it’s called primary gout. When you have it and it’s caused by something else, it’s known as secondary gout. Secondary gout can be caused by either:
- chronic kidney disease
- long-term use of medications that affect how well your kidneys can remove urate from your body.
Risk Factors
There are several things that can increase your risk of developing gout.
Family history
Even though your kidneys can be completely healthy, sometimes the genes you’ve inherited make it more likely that your kidneys don’t flush urate out as well as they should. This is the most common cause of primary gout, especially when several family members are affected, such as your parents or grandparents.
Being Overweight
Gout is much more common in people who are overweight. The more overweight you are, the more urate your body produces. Your body may produce more urate than your kidneys can cope with.
Being overweight also makes it more likely that you’ll have:
- high blood pressure
- type 2 diabetes
- high cholesterol
- fats in your blood.
These conditions can all lower how much urate is filtered out by your kidneys.
Gender and Age
Gout is about four times more common in men than women. It can affect men of any age, but the risk is greater as you get older.
Women rarely develop gout before menopause. This is because the female hormone estrogen increases how much urate is filtered out by the kidneys. But after menopause, estrogen levels go down and urate levels go up.
Menopause is a natural part of aging and usually happens in women aged between 45 and 55. It’s when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.
Are there any alternative treatments to prevent or cure gout?
Gout is a common inflammatory condition that causes swelling and pain in certain joints, most often the big toe. While medications, diet, and exercise are often used to treat gout symptoms, some people find herbs like tart cherry, turmeric, celery seeds, milk thistle, Devil’s Claw, and amla fruit may help. Keep in mind that herbal supplements can interact with each other, as well as certain medications.
BYHERBS GOUT CARE PLUS is one of the good supplements with all the super ingredients mentioned above. It not only helps to prevent a flare-up from Gout but also supports a healthy urinary tract and a healthy bladder.