6 Ways to Overcome Gout Attacks

If you experience gout, of course you know how uncomfortable complaints of joint pain that occur when the disease relapse. But don't give up on the situation, you can overcome it in several ways.

According to Dr. Anita Amalia Sari, gout or in medical terms called gout is caused by a buildup of monosodium urate crystals in the joints and tissues of the body.

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In the early stages, usually gout will not cause significant symptoms. However, once the accumulation of monosodium crystals has been overwhelming because it has been experienced for years, severe pain can arise. Pain is also usually accompanied by additional symptoms of swelling, redness, heat, and stiffness. If this is the case, immediately resolve with the methods below.

1. Rest

Reporting from Everyday Health, when symptoms of gout appear, do not force yourself to do physical activity that is too heavy. In fact, if the affected joint or body is not comfortable, you are advised to lie down for some time until the pain sensation decreases.

2. Cold compress

While resting, apply cold compresses to reduce pain due to joint inflammation. You can wrap ice cubes with a cloth or a special ice bag, then place them in the painful joint.

3. Pay attention to the food you consume

The more you eat foods that are high in animal protein and alcoholic beverages, the symptoms of pain will increase. This is because more crystal buildup

According to Dr. Alvin Nursalim, SpPD, from KlikDokter, while some types of food that should be avoided by gout sufferers include innards, some types of seafood such as sardines, shellfish, and shrimp, and red meat. These foods contain purines or high purines (ie compounds in DNA that can metabolize into uric acid), around 100-1,000 mg per 100 grams.

In addition to innards, gout sufferers should also avoid nuts, both dried beans (unprocessed) or those that have been processed such as peanut sauce, tofu, and tempeh. Medium purine foods, such as poultry and vegetables such as spinach and cauliflower, can be consumed occasionally.

4. Sufficient fluid needs

Gout will be removed by the body with the help of the kidneys. Therefore, fulfilling the body's fluid needs will help with the removal of gout. In addition, good hydration helps prevent high concentrations of uric acid in the blood.

5. If necessary, take painkillers

If you have pain relievers like ibuprofen, you can take it to relieve the pain sensation due to acute gout. However, if you have kidney disease, consult your doctor before taking it.

6. Request specific treatment from a doctor

If the five easy methods above do not work to reduce or overcome joint pain due to gout, it is better to consult a doctor to get specific and appropriate treatment.

Generally, doctors will give colchicine (colcrys) to eliminate acute gout attacks. Then, allopurinol (zyloprim) can also be given to patients who have repeatedly experienced gout attacks. The goal is to stop the development of gout. While giving probenecid aims to help the kidneys work in removing uric acid crystals.

Those are some ways to deal with attacks of gout that relapse. The most important first step is to make sure that the pain in the joint that you feel is indeed due to gout, not another disease. If joint pain is also accompanied by fever, the possible cause is not gout, but an infection caused by a virus or bacteria. If in doubt, immediately do a lab check and consult a doctor.

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