One of the most unpleasant and painful joint diseases is foot arthritis. It is accompanied by regular pain in the legs and prevents a person from wearing normal shoes. In the presence of such a disease, it is possible to wear exclusively orthopedic shoes.
All this helps to reduce not only the patient’s physical strength, but also his psychological mood. It is no secret that the foot has one of the most complex structures thanks to which the human body is able to move.
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Doctors note that joint problems are quite common today. And most often this manifests itself in the form of arthritis of the foot joints. This disease in the modern world occurs not only in older people, but also in the younger generation. There are many known causes of foot arthritis, but the most common are 5 pathologies:
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It is worth noting that all types of arthritis are characterized by a certain set of general symptoms, such as pain and redness, a local rise in temperature, the appearance of swelling and impaired functionality and motor activity of the inflamed area. A change in gait is quite acceptable. However, in addition to the general symptoms of arthritis characteristic of foot inflammation, there are also specific ones.
Thus, rheumatoid arthritis will certainly lead to the appearance of deformities, since it is chronic. As a result of this disease, the foot ceases to have supporting functions, which leads to the inability to move and, subsequently, to a wheelchair. Rheumatoid arthritis is nothing more than arthritis of the small joints of the foot and hand. The main symptoms are painful syndromes that appear during walking, fatigue, some stiffness in the joints after sleep, swelling of the affected area and its redness, and poor health. Most often, the last symptom resembles the condition of a flu patient.
Gouty arthritis affects the big toes and has a so-called paroxysmal course, since the pain overtakes a person unexpectedly and is most severe. Most often, this pain syndrome manifests itself at night and can last up to several weeks, of course, if you do not seek help from a specialist. Other symptoms include immediate redness and rapid swelling of the affected area. The appearance of a characteristic “bump” at the base of the finger and a local rise in temperature, which can be easily determined by touching the inflamed area. This deforming arthritis affecting the foot is very easy to diagnose, since it has the most typical manifestations.
Osteoarthritis manifests itself with general symptoms, while the appearance of reactive arthritis can occur several weeks after suffering from a genitourinary disease or other intestinal infection. This disease is also accompanied by general symptoms, but inflammation also affects adjacent areas. The same applies to other nonspecific inflammations, as a result of which the joints of the foot suffer.
It is not difficult to completely restore JOINTS! The most important thing is to rub this into the sore spot 2-3 times a day.
Small joints of the foot with arthritis require mandatory and rapid treatment, otherwise the consequences can be very dire, including complete loss of motor functions. It is worth noting that self-treatment should in no case be carried out, since only specialists know all the nuances of treating the foot for arthritis. At the slightest manifestation of this disease, the attending physician refers the patient to various tests and analyses, thanks to which it is possible to identify the presence of a special protein and establish the acid level. Based on the research, the specialist draws up a course of treatment, which includes:
Treatment of gout and other types of joint diseases must be accompanied by diet. Patients are advised to reduce their intake of foods containing purines. These are, first of all, meat and fish products, legumes, alcoholic beverages, smoked meats and lard. Patients are advised to eat more of a variety of greens and vegetables. Fruit wouldn't hurt either. Eating cereal porridges, primarily millet, has a very good effect on the body during this period. During the same period, you should increase your water intake and choose green tea as your tea.
Regardless of the form of arthritis, a person should increase their intake of calcium-containing products, that is, dairy and fermented milk products, as well as products with chondroitin. The latter include jellied dishes and sea fish. It is also necessary to provide the patient with vitamins and minerals, while fats and carbohydrates must be reduced as much as possible.
The causes are divided into primary, which arose due to direct damage to the joint, and secondary - from complications of concomitant somatic diseases. The primary causes of foot arthritis include:
The last four reasons are not only the causes of arthritis. But also factors that aggravate its course and contribute to the development of complications. Secondary causes of foot arthritis:
Many factors can be avoided by treating your health correctly and leading a healthy lifestyle. Timely consultation with a doctor can prevent the development of the disease.
Arthritis of the foot joints is a disease that contributes to the destruction of the joint structure; characteristic signs appear in the early stages:
Early signs are associated with the accumulation of fluid in the joint cavity, resulting in damage to the surrounding soft tissue. At first, the fluid will be serous; if infection or trauma occurs, there may be accumulations of pus or blood. According to the lesion, mono- and polyarthritis are distinguished. The cause of damage to several joints at once is rheumatism. In this case, both the right and left feet are affected.
If treated incorrectly or not consult a doctor in a timely manner, arthritis can cause the development of arthrosis, a dystrophic disease in which the cartilage of the joint is destroyed. The consequences of this disease are extremely serious. Often, restoring normal mobility in the affected limb is only possible through surgery. In this case, the destroyed cartilage is replaced with artificial one.
Arthrosis-arthritis is also a complication, characterized by an inflammatory process combined with mechanical damage to the joint-ligamentous apparatus. It manifests itself in the form of a dull pain that first occurs when the affected limb is loaded. With further deterioration of the condition, pain occurs at rest.
It is not difficult to identify foot arthritis by analyzing complaints and examining the patient. For instrumental confirmation, X-rays and MRI are used. The examination clearly reveals the presence of fluid in the joint cavity. X-ray examination uses a contrast method.
In order to find out the reasons that caused this kind of disease, a blood test is performed to determine C-reactive protein (for rheumatism), uric acid salts (gout). They also collect data on the presence of chronic and infectious diseases and possible injuries.
How to treat foot arthritis should only be decided by a doctor. Do not self-medicate, as this can worsen your condition and the course of the disease.
The essence of treatment is to relieve inflammation, eliminate pain and restore affected tissues.
Treatment of foot arthritis is divided into several stages:
As a medicinal treatment, a complex of drugs is used: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, antibiotics and agents that restore the affected areas of the joint.
The decision to prescribe a drug is made only by the doctor, who will be based on the symptoms, severity of the disease and individual intolerance to a particular drug.
Puncture is used when there is a sufficiently large volume of fluid in the joint capsule. If the condition worsens, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are administered orally, and if an infectious process occurs, then antibiotics. The puncture significantly improves well-being, pain and swelling are reduced.
These types of therapies are used to treat “from the inside.” To consolidate the results of treatment for arthritis of the feet, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, and acupuncture are used. Physiotherapy includes heating, magnetic therapy, massage and electrophoresis.
To reduce the load on the joint, it is recommended to use special orthopedic shoes and instep supports. For severe pain or injury, it is better to use a cane.
In case of severe deformation and damage to the cartilage, endoprosthetics is used.
It is necessary to take into account all the symptoms, and then the treatment will be selected correctly.
The basis of the diet for arthritis is to reduce the acidity of the body. It is recommended to eat a large amount of vegetables daily. In advanced cases or exacerbation of foot arthritis, it is recommended to completely switch to raw vegetables.
First of all, you should stop smoking and drinking alcohol and caffeine. For a diet for gout, you should avoid foods that contain substances that synthesize uric acid. These are offal, fried foods, beans and cauliflower.
For all types of arthritis, you should increase the amount of calcium in your diet. This is done by taking dairy products. To restore cartilage, you should add fatty fish and seafood to your diet. The menu should be varied, including essential vitamins and minerals.
Fasting days on boiled rice help remove excess fluid. Effectively removes synovial fluid and salt.
Diet for arthritis is a good addition to the main treatment.
To alleviate the course of the disease, you can use folk remedies. You should warm up sore joints using salt baths. Sand can also be used for these purposes. The use of warming procedures is strictly prohibited if you have purulent arthritis. A decoction of chamomile and linden will help with chronic inflammation.
It is taken one teaspoon before meals for a course of one month. You can drink decoctions of elderberry, nettle, and yarrow, which will relieve pain and relieve inflammation; they also have a bactericidal effect.
Paraffin baths have proven themselves to be effective in relieving pain associated with signs of arthritis and reducing swelling. All traditional methods should in no case replace traditional treatment. This is an adjuvant therapy.
To prevent the disease you need to follow the rules:
The symptoms that are observed in various variants of the disease are almost identical, but the nature of the occurrence of types of foot arthritis is not the same. In medicine, the following forms of the disease are distinguished:
To answer the question “How to treat foot arthritis?”, It is necessary to carefully examine data on the symptoms and signs that signal this disease.
Symptoms of foot arthritis are expressed by a set of manifestations that are common to all types of the disease and include:
Signs of foot arthritis are individual for each type of disease; below are specific examples:
Important: only a specialist can diagnose rheumatoid foot arthritis based on certain tests, the key of which is testing for the identification of a specific protein, which is one of the most important indicators of the patient’s biochemical blood test!
Interesting: to confirm the diagnosis, an indicator of the level of uric acid contained in the patient’s blood is used!
How to cure foot arthritis? To answer this question, it is necessary to take into account that it is the symptoms of foot arthritis that are involved in the formation of methods of its treatment, therefore the therapy used for each patient must be individual.
As for the basic treatments for foot arthritis, the drug approach includes the following components:
Caution: folk remedies are used only after consultation with a treating specialist!
Traditional treatment involves the following procedures:
Attention: treating foot arthritis at home helps the patient avoid frequent side effects that occur while taking medications!
The diet for foot arthritis should be enriched with vitamin E, which is known for its antioxidant effect. For any form of inflammation that is localized in the foot area, it is necessary to consume foods that include a high degree of calcium content, that is, sesame paste and dairy products, as well as vitamins and minerals. Chondroitin, which is found in large quantities in jellies, sea fish and jellied dishes, has a positive effect. It is recommended to reduce the addition of fats and simple carbohydrates to the diet.
Arthritis of the foot can be determined based on the reasons that triggered the inflammatory processes in the joints. The main signs of the disease are:
In addition, signs of arthritis of the foot are accompanied by a local increase in temperature, general malaise, difficulty and fatigue when walking. A person may feel significant changes occurring in their feet.
If the patient has arthritis of the foot, the symptoms indicate this, then you need to choose the appropriate type of treatment. After the first signs of the disease appear, you should immediately consult a doctor for qualified help.
Rheumatoid arthritis of the foot is treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Such drugs include:
These substances help suppress inflammation, relieve fever, swelling and pain. If there is a large amount of fluid and pus in the area of the affected joints, then a puncture cannot be avoided. To perform the treatment procedure, it is necessary to inject steroid hormones (Dexamethasone and Kenalog) into the joint cavity. In addition, foot arthritis can be treated with antibacterial agents prescribed by an experienced specialist. At the recovery stage, chondroprotectors are prescribed, because such substances regenerate damaged intra-articular cartilage.
Note that in some cases it will be necessary to resort to surgical intervention - endoprosthetics. This method can lead to some complications, so only an experienced doctor should prescribe this type of treatment. It is best to carry out therapy in the early stages of the disease so as not to resort to endoprosthetics.
Heel arthritis can be treated in a large number of ways that have been known since ancient times.
Heel arthritis can be treated by taking special baths. Baths with an alkali solution provide effective help. You need to take 5 kg of wood ash and pour 5 liters of water into it. At night, the liquid should be placed in a warm room, during which time the alkali will rise to the surface. For one procedure you will need 1 liter of solution diluted with 4 liters of water. You can prepare baths with sea salt (500 g), which is added to 5 liters of water (temperature 42°C). Immerse your feet in a container with liquid for 20 - 25 minutes.
Bran baths provide effective assistance. You need to take 1.5 kg of the substance, put it in a saucepan, add water and boil for 10 minutes.
After this, you need to strain the product, pour it into a basin and immerse your feet there. The procedure lasts until the water cools down.
Baths made from pine needles or birch leaves are popular. You need to take 1 kg of one or another component, pour 9 liters of water into it and leave for half an hour. After this, you need to introduce the mixture into the bath and lower your feet there. It is best to carry out the procedure at night, the course of treatment is 30 days.
There are many more methods of treating the disease. First of all, you need to wear orthopedic shoes for arthritis. This will allow your feet to feel comfortable; for the same reason, you should limit wearing high heels.
Very often, paraffin therapy is used to treat arthritis. To carry out such a procedure, you need to make baths with this substance (pre-heated in a special device) and lower your feet there. In addition, you can apply applications to the affected areas. Regular implementation of such procedures can reduce pain, relieve swelling and restore joint mobility.
In addition, the attending physician can prescribe a special menu for the patient. An essential rule is that you should not consume fatty foods and alcoholic beverages. It is very important to eat different cereals, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.
Treatment of arthritis of the feet is also carried out with the help of physical exercises, which are suitable for absolutely everyone. The following gymnastics are usually prescribed:
It is strictly forbidden to perform training during the stage of remission of the disease, otherwise the inflammatory process can be intensified.
If you notice symptoms of foot arthritis, you should immediately begin treatment for the disease.
The severity of the disease, symptoms and treatment depend on the cause of arthritis. The fact is that it is often necessary to treat not only the arthritis itself, but also the factors that cause it.
For example, we can call rheumatism. With rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune process develops, that is, when microbes enter the body, they react with its own antibodies, which are localized in the connective tissue area. The human immune system cannot distinguish foreign agents from its own cells and attacks both, causing the destruction of its own connective tissue located in the joints. Naturally, even if it is possible to relieve the pain, prescribe medication with anti-inflammatory drugs, it will only be possible to reduce inflammation in the affected area, but as soon as the treatment is stopped, rheumatism will begin to attack again.
It is depending on the reason for which the disease develops that arthritis is classified. Thus, primary arthritis is distinguished, that is, inflammation begins directly with the lesion of the foot, and the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joint most often suffer. This is due to the fact that these areas bear the greatest load.
The primary causes of arthritis include the following factors:
By the way, it is injuries that most often lead to inflammation in the feet. The disease develops after the ankle or ankle is constantly twisted, as well as after fractures and bruises. Athletes and people who have suffered frostbite on their legs suffer from the disease at an older age. A sharp weight gain negatively affects the feet, which is why the disease often develops during pregnancy and in people suffering from metabolic disorders (diabetes).
Secondary arthritis develops against the background of malfunctions in the body or infection, or are complications. Secondary arthritis causes systemic diseases that affect connective tissue. Such diseases include rheumatism.
Pain in the joints of the foot almost always occurs with gout. This disease is associated with metabolic disorders, or rather, with the removal of urea from the body. Urate salts settle on the bone surface, causing pain and inflammation. By the way, with gout, arthritis occurs in the small joints of the foot in the area of the metatarsus and tarsus, when with rheumatism, the ankles, knees, and parts of the head are more affected (arthritis of the upper and lower jaw joint).
The disease can develop when viruses and microbes enter the body. Thus, symptoms of arthritis appear with tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea. If the infection enters the respiratory system and the genitourinary system, then the person may be at risk of reactive arthritis, then the disease manifests itself acutely and there is severe pain. With chronic and infectious pathologies, general dysfunction begins in the body, so several joints are often affected; for example, the following combinations of symptoms can be cited:
If the infection affects the respiratory system, especially when a person has had a sore throat, then the inflammatory process begins with the maxillary joint, mandibular joint, and after that the arms and legs suffer.
By the way, if a person has flat feet, then his risk of developing arthrosis increases several times, since a flat foot does not fully perform the function of shock absorption. There are situations when, with arthritis having already begun, a person gets injured again or does not treat flat feet. Then, when small bones are involved in the process, arthrosis develops - arthritis, which is more difficult to treat and has a complex course.
When dysfunction associated with the production of synovial fluid develops in the body, then the first symptoms of the disease appear. The disease begins acutely, with pain in the affected part. Here we can emphasize that if fluid accumulates in the form of exudate, then pain, limited joint mobility and swelling are observed. But if purulent contents accumulate, as happens with infectious diseases, signs of intoxication are added to these symptoms. Body temperature rises, hyperemia of the skin around the affected areas occurs, and weakness increases.
The onset of acute arthritis is characterized by severe pain in the foot or ankle, with swelling noted. Due to the fact that there is a malnutrition of the joint, the skin begins to turn red, while the movement of the foot is limited. It becomes difficult for a person to walk.
There are two forms of the disease - this is monoarthritis, when one leg and one joint are affected. The second form is polyarthritis, when several joints are involved in the pathological process.
There is another specific sign of arthritis - stiffness after a night or a long period of immobility. But when a person “diverges,” the symptoms are muffled, but intensify again after exercise. If arthritis is not treated promptly, a person may be unable to move independently, especially with polyarthritis. In such cases, conventional analgesics will not be able to relieve pain.
Arthritis of the fingers and ankle is dangerous, since the dysfunction caused by the pathology leads not only to inflammation, but also to the destruction of cartilage tissue. This increases the risk of developing arthrosis of the ankle and finger joints. Complications include bursitis, periarthritis of the ankle joint, and fingers.
Before starting treatment, you need to carefully examine the affected areas of the foot. During the examination, attention is paid not only to the joints themselves, but also to the condition of the body as a whole. Patients who have affected groups of joints (inflammation of the foot, knees, mandibular joint) require special attention. In such cases, the cause of the disease may be systemic diseases or infections.
To examine the foot, X-rays and MRIs are prescribed, and to exclude concomitant pathologies, you need to take blood and urine tests. With rheumatism and infections, a shift in the leukocyte formula is observed, and ESR levels increase. With gout, there is a shift in the indicators in the biochemical blood test.
Once the cause of the joint damage has been established, treatment is prescribed in two directions. The first direction has the goal of alleviating health conditions and reducing inflammation. For this, a medicine from the NSAID group is selected - it can be Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Nise, Meloxicam. For severe pain, a combination of NSAIDs and muscle relaxants has a therapeutic effect. If necessary, arthrosis is treated; for this purpose, chondroprotectors are added to the general algorithm. Treatment of arthrosis-arthritis is based on a combination of treatment methods for both arthritis and arthrosis, although in some ways they are similar.
The traditional way to relieve severe pain is to carry out a blockade with hormones. For blockade, a remedy such as Diprospan is increasingly being chosen. By the way, hormonal treatment is also indicated for rheumatism. Also, for rheumatism, immunosuppressants, cytostatics, and gold preparations are prescribed, especially when the disease is severe, as when the mandibular joint, pelvic bones, shoulder girdle, and foot are affected.
If there is an accumulation of blood, pus or exudate, the doctor may perform a puncture of the joint and, if necessary, prescribe antibiotics to prevent further infection. Treatment of arthritis of the ankle joint and the foot itself includes physiotherapy, which must be combined with exercise therapy. For arthritis, magnet, diadynamic, amplipulse, and paraffin treatments are prescribed. During the rehabilitation period it will be necessary to undergo a massage course. We must not forget about proper nutrition, maintaining the body with vitamins and minerals, especially calcium.
Treatment of foot and ankle joints with folk remedies is carried out only as an addition to the main therapy. Treatment with folk remedies includes potato and garlic compresses, baths with medicinal herbs, taking infusions and decoctions. If the joint is severely damaged, surgical treatment may be necessary.
Gout has been known since ancient times. It was described back in the time of Hippocrates. Gouty arthritis was considered the lot of noble and wealthy people. Many famous and outstanding people suffered from it. For this reason, the disease was called the disease of kings and was associated with genius. There are many gourmets and wine lovers among gout patients. Due to their tendency to overeat, they often become overweight. Hereditary factors play a major role in the development of the disease. Timely detection of gouty arthritis can prevent the development of serious complications.
Gouty arthritis develops in people with disorders of purine metabolism. The end product of the breakdown of purines is uric acid. It is excreted by the kidneys.
Excessive synthesis and insufficient excretion of uric acid from the body leads to its accumulation in the blood. The solubility of uric acid salts (urates) in the blood is low. Reaching peripheral zones, where body temperature is lower, urates cool and crystallize. The crystals resemble sticks or needles with broken ends, about 10 microns in length. First, they accumulate in the intercellular space of the synovial (articular) fluid of the small joints of the foot and toes.
Crystals are perceived by the body as foreign particles. They are attacked by cells of the immune system - phagocytes. However, they fail to destroy the crystals. The death of immune agents triggers an inflammatory response. The patient develops arthritis of the foot. Joint damage is an early manifestation of gout.
As the disease progresses, inflammation occurs in other joints. Not only the joints of the legs are affected, but also the joints of the upper extremities. During a gout attack, one joint or several joints may become inflamed at the same time. In severe cases of the disease, sometimes all joints of the limbs are affected.
Inflammations recur at different intervals. The interval between attacks can be several months or years. At this time, the gouty person feels well and does not complain of malaise. Against the background of chronic gouty arthritis, attacks appear more often, but are less pronounced.
Photo. Gouty foot
The advanced form of the disease is characterized by continuous attacks of arthritis in one or more joints. They are observed for several months in a row. All this time, moderate inflammatory processes do not subside. This condition is called status gouty.
Inflammatory processes have a destructive effect on joints. The joints become deformed and become stiff. The patient develops gouty arthrosis. Changes lead to deformation of the organ. The range of motion decreases. A person suffers from constant pain in the limbs. Arthrosis most often develops in the joints of the feet (bumpy gouty foot in the photo).
The spread of the inflammatory process to the upper extremities is accompanied by the appearance of tophi. Tophi are collections of uric acid crystals. Urates are deposited on the surface of articular cartilage, in the synovium, in tendons and in bones. Gout bumps appear in the skin, under the skin and in the muscles.
Tophi are painless yellowish nodules. They usually form near a joint (usually the elbow or knee) and can reach the size of a chicken egg. Tophi localized in the musculoskeletal system cause gouty polyarthritis. An ulcer may appear on the tophi. Later, a fistula appears in its place, from which a pulp containing uric acid salts is released.
Urate crystals accumulate in the ureters and renal pelvis. They cause nephritis (inflammatory kidney disease) and urolithiasis. Due to impaired renal function, the excretion of uric acid decreases even more and the disease progresses.
A metabolic disorder that causes uric acid to accumulate in the blood causes obesity and loss of sensitivity of body tissues to insulin. Insulin that is not destroyed by the kidneys and liver accumulates in the blood and causes a decrease in glucose consumption by tissues. Therefore, gouty polyarthritis is often accompanied by diabetes mellitus.
Metabolic disorders cause the accumulation of low-density lipoproteins in the blood. They form atherosclerotic plaques on the walls of blood vessels. People with gout often have high cholesterol levels. They suffer from atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension. As gout progresses, coronary insufficiency develops.
Pathology increases the likelihood of myocardial infarction.
The mild form of the disease is characterized by the occurrence of attacks no more than 1-2 times a year. The patient only has 1 or 2 joints inflamed. After an exacerbation, the functions of the articulation are completely restored. Between attacks, the gouty person feels completely healthy. He does not have any renal dysfunction or other concomitant diseases. Tophi are completely absent. In some patients, single gouty bumps are found, not exceeding 1 cm in diameter.
With a moderate illness, the patient suffers from attacks at least 3 to 5 times a year. Gouty arthritis of the knee joint develops against the background of inflammation of the metatarsophalangeal joint (the joint of the big toe). The source of inflammation may also be in the ankle joint. At this stage of the disease, moderate deformation of one or two joints is visible. Multiple small tophi are detected. Gout is diagnosed with renal stone disease.
If the disease is severe, the patient experiences attacks almost every 2 months. He develops large tophi. The examination reveals renal dysfunction and other concomitant diseases.
An attack of gouty arthritis develops suddenly at night or early in the morning. At an early stage of the disease, the inflammatory process is detected in the metatarsophalangeal joint. Sometimes gouty arthritis of the ankle joint may develop during the first attack. In rare cases, a focus of inflammation appears for the first time:
The process is proceeding rapidly. Severe bursting pain appears in the affected joint. Patients consider gouty pain to be the most severe pain they have ever experienced. The leg in the joint area swells and increases in size almost 2 times. The skin becomes bluish-purple, hot and very sensitive. Even the touch of a light cloth increases the suffering of the patient. During an attack, body temperature may rise to 38 - 39? C. Due to inflammation, the patient's motor activity is limited. He cannot put weight on his leg with an inflamed joint. Severe pain does not allow him to even move it.
Symptoms of gouty arthritis disappear as suddenly as they appear. Relief occurs within 3 or 4 days even without treatment. The joint fully restores its functions. Therefore, the patient may mistake the attack for a consequence of injury.
Subsequent exacerbations may last longer. A person suffering from chronic gouty arthritis often knows about an impending attack in advance. A couple of days before an exacerbation, unpleasant sensations arise in the joint. The patient feels:
In women, gouty arthritis is not as severe. The disease manifests itself as moderate pain in the knee or ankle joint.
Symptoms of gout are often mistaken for signs of gonarthrosis. It is possible to distinguish arthrosis of the knee joint from inflammation only by characteristic swelling.
Treatment of gouty arthritis should begin immediately after the first symptoms appear. Pain syndrome is relieved with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs:
Drugs that affect uric acid metabolism are also prescribed:
If the patient’s condition cannot be alleviated, the doctor prescribes corticosteroid drugs:
An effective combination drug Ambene contains the glucocorticoid dexamethasone, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs phenylbutazone and sodium salicylamide - O - acetate, as well as cyanocobalamin and lidocaine hydrochloride. The components of the drug reinforce each other, allowing you to reduce the dose of dexamethasone.
If treatment is started within 30-60 minutes of an exacerbation, inflammation and pain will subside within a few hours. During the first hours of an attack, most of the daily dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is administered. In the absence of therapy, the inflammatory process can develop for several weeks.
When a sign of attenuation of the inflammatory process appears, the dosage of Colchicine is reduced or the drug is discontinued. The disadvantage of Colchicine treatment is its poor tolerability by patients. They complain of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Gastroenteritis and neuropathy sometimes develop. Patients with severe forms of the disease are prescribed Colchicine intravenously.
After the attack has stopped, treatment of gouty arthritis is continued with drugs that prevent exacerbation. The patient is prescribed uricosurics (increase the excretion of uric acid) and uricostatics (inhibit the synthesis of uric acid).
Uricosurics are not prescribed for high levels of uric acid in the blood and when kidney failure is diagnosed. In other cases, the patient is prescribed Sulfinpyrazone or Probenecid.
Uricostatics are recommended for all patients with gouty arthritis. Usually the doctor prescribes Allopurinol. Medications can prevent attacks, reverse the development of tophi and improve the excretory function of the kidneys.
In order to prevent the development of nephropathy and urolithiasis, gout patients take alkalizing medications (Magurlit, Uralit, Blemaren). While taking medications, urine pH levels should be monitored. It is beneficial for patients to drink alkaline mineral waters.
If there are signs of osteoarthritis of the hands, knees or other joints, it is recommended to use anti-inflammatory drugs for external use (Dolobene, Finalgon, Nimulid gel, Bischofite gel).
Treatment with folk remedies helps to significantly alleviate the patient’s condition during an attack.
Symptoms and treatment of the disease depend on the gout diet. If he manages to completely eliminate certain foods from the menu or significantly reduce their consumption, attacks will bother him much less frequently. In some cases, the diet helps avoid attacks for years.
The patient needs to avoid offal:
It is necessary to reduce the consumption of protein (up to 1 g per day per 1 kg of body) and salt (no more than 5 g per day).
It is advisable to eat more often:
They can be eaten fresh, frozen or dried. Compotes and juices made from these berries are useful. You need to prepare rosehip decoctions.