Common Gout Causes – Treating the Root Cause of the Problem
There are several factors that affect gout causes. Generally, gout is commonly known as a kind of arthritis or inflammation of joints. People suffering from gout experience sudden burning pain, stiffness and swelling. Gout attacks can occur again and again unless it is properly treated. When left untreated, it can cause severe damage to the joints, tendons and tissues.
The primary cause of gout is an abnormally high uric acid level in the blood. Ten percent of people who have gout have high uric acid levels in the body. Uric acid is the by-product of purines breakdown that are mostly found in the food you eat. The high levels of uric acid may form hard crystals of urates that deposit in the bodys joints. Normally, uric acid is filtered in the blood and passes through the kidney into the urine where it is excreted. If the body has too high uric acid levels, or is unable to eliminate enough uric acid then it builds up in the blood.
Hard crystals form in the joints and these results to attacks of joint inflammation or arthritis. Chronic gout may even cause deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around joints and may lead to joint destruction, kidney stones and decreased kidney function.
There may also be other gout causes aside from high uric acid levels. There are people who have hyperuricemia (high uric acid level) and do not develop gout. This only goes to show that gout may occur in individuals regardless of uric acid levels. Most often, gout attacks are caused by the rapid change of uric acid level in the body, whether up or down.
People who are overweight, drink too much alcohol and eat too much meat, fish, liver, lobster, crabs, dried beans, peas, anchovies and gravies are at high risk of developing gout. There are also some medications that can cause gout like diuretics or water pills. Salicylates and aspirin can cause gout too. Some steroidal preparations used to suppress the bodys immune system and control bodys rejection of transplanted organs. It is most common in men. Statistics show that approximately five million in America are suffering from gout.
Gout patients usually complain of nighttime attack of swelling, tenderness, and sharp pain particularly in the big toe. You can also feel a burning pain in the foot, ankle or knees.
Genetics is also one factor that determines a persons predisposition to suffer from gout. A defect in the enzyme in the body can interfere with purine breakdown and can cause gout in some people, a lot of whom have family history of gout. Lead exposure can also lead to gout.
Secondary gout is a complication of an existing medical condition. This medical condition may include the following:
- Metabolic syndromes like hypertension, diabetes, truncal obesity, dyslipidemia, increased cardiovascular risk – Leukemia – Polycythemia, hemolytic anemia – Renal disorders
Luckily, gout can be treated if the gout causes are identified right away. Diet and lifestyle control are certainly ways that you can prevent gout causes from occurring.