Gouty arthritis has been known for many centuries. It occurs predominantly in people who consume a lot of fatty foods and alcohol, with a hereditary predisposition, as well as in both men and women, affecting the joints and connective tissues of the toes and hands, wrists, metatarsals, and occasionally elbow and knee joints. The joints of the big toes are most susceptible to gout.
Gout is a disease associated with metabolic disorders and an increase in the level of uric acid in the blood. In healthy people, this acid is excreted from the body by the kidneys; in those suffering from gout, it is retained in the body. Uric acid is deposited in the joints in the form of sodium monosodium (poorly soluble white powder). The deposition process itself causes inflammation and an acute painful gout attack.
If gout attacks are left untreated, damage to the limbs, limited joint mobility, and white nodules filled with salt deposits (tophi) may form under the skin. Nodules may appear in joints damaged by gout or behind the ears.
How to treat gout on the legs
The first signs indicating the presence of the disease are:
At the beginning of the disease, attacks occur with long intervals, however, as arthritis becomes chronic, the joint is increasingly destroyed, and the intervals between exacerbations become shorter and shorter.
Gout pattern on legs
At the first signs indicating the presence of a disease, you should contact an arthrologist or rheumatologist. If the disease is advanced, an experienced doctor will make a diagnosis after a visual examination. However, additional research cannot be done. First of all, this is a referral for an x-ray of the feet and hands, which will reveal gouty areas, as well as a biochemical blood test. Moreover, the level of uric acid must be assessed not only at the time of the attack, but also in the intervals between exacerbations. The reason for this is uric acid, which at the time of an attack is concentrated in the affected area, while its level in the blood drops slightly.
Diagnosis of gout using X-ray
The test that most accurately confirms gout is arthrocentesis (analysis of synovial fluid) of the joint. This study reveals the presence of deposits of uric acid salts. If there is swelling or redness, this type of diagnosis is not used.
The type of treatment prescribed depends on the degree of gouty arthritis, but, nevertheless, the approach should be comprehensive, and the patient should treat treatment with full responsibility, not abandoning it between periods of exacerbation.
— Drug treatment involves the attending physician prescribing painkillers (Voltaren, Nimulide, ibuprofen, etc.), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (colchicine, indomethacin and others) and drugs that suppress the formation of uric acid (purinol or allopurinol). In addition, an anti-gout drug is prescribed for treatment - colchicine.
There are currently many medications available to treat gout.
— An alcohol-containing compress or a cryotherapy compress (with ice) can be placed locally on the affected area to reduce inflammation and pain.
— A person with gout must follow a diet, drink more fluids and exclude alcohol and fatty foods from the diet. If the diet is not followed, it will be difficult to reduce the level of uric acid in the body, which can lead to urolithiasis and deterioration of the condition of the affected joints.
— Physiotherapy has a positive effect on limbs affected by gouty arthritis. In the period between attacks, the following are indicated: ultrasound, mud therapy, phonophoresis with hydrocortisone. During attacks, procedures such as ultraviolet radiation and pulsed currents are prescribed.
— Plasmapheresis has a positive effect on the course of treatment. To do this, a portion of blood is taken from the patient, which is separated by a special installation into plasma and formed elements, which are returned to the patient, and the plasma is disposed of. Plasmaresis allows you to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood and relieve the inflammatory process.
The process of plasmapheresis in a patient
— Surgical intervention becomes advisable in case of large lesions of tissues and joints, in the presence of large tophi. This type of surgical intervention is prescribed only if drug treatment does not bring a positive result.
— A fish compress (the fillet should be applied to the sore spot, wrapped in film, insulated and left overnight), used for 10 days.
Fish compress for the treatment of gout
- Rubbing with activated carbon (grind 1/2 cup of activated carbon into powder and mix with a small amount of water and 1 tablespoon of flaxseed) at night until complete recovery.
— An ointment made from butter and alcohol (the butter must be melted and mixed in equal parts with alcohol, the mixture should be set on fire until the alcohol completely burns out) is applied to the affected areas until the pain disappears.
- A solution of iodine and aspirin (10 ml of iodine is mixed with 5 tablets of acetylsalicylic acid to a uniform mass) is used as a rub, after which socks or gloves are put on.
— Baths with iodine (for three liters of water you will need: 9 drops of iodine, 3 tsp of baking soda) help reduce uric acid deposits.
— Herbal medicine (herbs are used both for baths and for oral administration, for example chamomile, linden and string) has a positive effect on the general condition of the patient and helps speed up the healing process.
— Sea salt ointment (0.5 kg of salt is poured with boiling water and put on fire until the moisture completely evaporates, then 200 grams of Vaseline are added, mixed and applied as a compress overnight, insulating the top with a cloth).
- To treat gout, use lard, rubbing pieces into the periarticular areas or tying them overnight.
— Onion decoction (2-3 unpeeled onions are poured with water and boiled until they soften) taken orally 3 times a day, half a glass before meals for 10-15 days.
Gout in men is an inflammation of the joints caused by excessive smoking, drinking alcohol, and fatty foods. The disease is incurable; therapy can only alleviate its course.
What is gout in men? This is a disease caused by the deposition of urates - uric acid salts - in the joints. .
Gout most often begins in the joint of the big toe. This is manifested by the following signs:
After the first attack of gouty arthritis in one joint, signs of gout in men may appear anywhere else in the musculoskeletal system . The pathological process can affect the feet, ankles, knees, hip joints, as well as the joints of the hands, elbows and shoulders.
In addition to intense burning pain, symptoms of gout in men include:
Chronic gout is characterized by the appearance of dense growths (tophi) on joints and tissues. During an attack, tophi tend to soften and burst . White acid crystals can be seen in the wound; small ulcers and even abscesses may develop due to the penetration of pyogenic bacteria into the body.
The causes of gout in men are the excessive accumulation of uric acid in the body. Crystals of its salts, urates, are “stored” in the joints, provoking an inflammatory process . The deposition of uric acid salts occurs due to metabolic disorders:
Risk factors for developing gout are:
Why does gout occur more often in men than in women? Because many of the listed risk factors are present mainly in men’s lives : working outdoors or in hot shops, hobbies associated with the possibility of hypothermia (winter fishing, hiking, mountaineering, etc.), and abuse of nicotine and alcoholic beverages .
Why is gout dangerous for men? It reduces a man’s quality of life, limiting his motor capabilities and preventing him from engaging in sports, sex, and work.
Important: even treatment for gout is fraught with complications for men, since the main drug can reduce the number of sperm in semen. Consequently, the ability to conceive during treatment decreases.
Gout is also dangerous due to the possibility of urolithiasis. Urate stones can block the lumen of the urinary ducts or accumulate in the renal pelvis. If left untreated, it can lead to kidney failure and even death .
If chronic gout has worsened and joint pain has appeared, treatment in men is carried out using complex methods.
To relieve gouty pain, the patient needs to sit comfortably in bed, place a bolster under the knee and ankle. If your hand hurts, it also needs to be provided with a comfortable position and rest. Apply a heating pad or ice pack to the sore joint for 10-15 minutes. You cannot keep the cold for a long time, so as not to overcool the diseased area . After ice, apply a compress of Vishnevsky ointment.
Important! It is not recommended to take painkillers at the peak of pain and fever, as they can cause nausea and vomiting, aggravate the patient’s condition and do not bring the expected relief.
For the same reason, it is better to refuse the next meal and replace the food with alkaline mineral still water to neutralize the acid. Later you can eat liquid soups and broths.
In the future, you can use folk remedies as rubbing:
The step-by-step comprehensive treatment of gout includes:
The product helps reduce the severity of pain. It has contraindications: liver and kidney failure . A side effect of the drug is a decrease in the number of sperm in semen. In case of overdose, nausea and vomiting occur.
Particularly sensitive people should undergo an allergy test . If after a day there is no redness (irritation) on the skin, you can safely treat the sore joints.
For self-massage, you can prepare massage oil: add 3 drops of several essential oils to a base of olive oil (50 ml): coriander, pine, lavender and cypress. This composition is also suitable for lotions on sore joints.
We previously wrote about how to treat gout on the big toe and recommended bookmarking this article.
Clay of any color (more radium in blue, green and red clay) must be kept in direct sunlight for 2 hours to recharge with radium. Clay absorbs and releases pure radium in a therapeutic dose to the inflamed joint. It reduces swelling and inflammation, kills putrefactive bacteria. Dilute the clay with purified or melt water. The cakes should be thick, 2 cm thick. Clay for lotions should be placed on cotton cloth in several layers, applied to the joint and leveled the surface.
Important: lozenges or lotions are applied for no more than 2 hours. The clay is not reused, not heated, but used at room temperature. The lotions or cakes are fixed on top with bandages.
Baths (100 l) with the addition of clay (100 g) also restore the functioning of joints and prevent the deposition of salts.
It is impossible to completely get rid of gout, but promptly started and correctly prescribed treatment will help a man improve his quality of life, reduce pain and prolong periods of remission.
Co-author of the material: Dmitry Ulyanov is an orthopedist-rheumatologist with 22 years of experience, a doctor of the first category. Engaged in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of all diseases of the joints and connective tissue. He has a diploma in Rheumatology and studied at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.
The male variation of the disease is very insidious. The main difference is the scale of the first signs. begins in men with inflammation of the joints of the hands and feet at the same time. It grabs the wrists, shoulders and elbows. Progress is much faster than for women. Treatment options should be sought immediately before surgery is required.
In addition, the disease is primarily dangerous for men. This part of patients is different in that their body is endowed with accompanying factors. Let's take a closer look at them.
The specifics will be as follows:
Scientific research confirms that it is more convenient for the disease to develop in the male body. Especially for those who celebrated their 50th anniversary. With a defect in the male chromosome, a tendency to kidney dysfunction is also more common. Therefore, it is necessary that at the first signs of gout in men, treatment is received immediately. It is also important to treat diseases as they are identified, since often one becomes a consequence of another, gradually becoming more serious.
Knowing the causes makes it easier to prevent the disease. Let us devote due time to this issue. Typically, symptoms of gout in men appear as a result of problems in the metabolism of uric acid. Its compounds accumulate in the body, or more precisely, in the joint capsules. This leads to inflammation, which causes painful attacks.
If the level of uric acid in the organs does not exceed the norm, it means that gout has developed against the background of concomitant diseases. This is usually due to a kidney condition. Such deposits occur only when the functions of the excretory system are impaired. Often the disease develops as a consequence of diabetes and arterial hypertension.
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Most often, the attack begins at night. In any case, inflammation is associated with pain, but with this disease it affects the joints. The initial stage can be quite long, that is, the attack lasts two to three days. The first time it goes away on its own. The exacerbation will occur again only after a few months. Gradually, the disease ceases to be accompanied by periods of calm. Patients suffer from pain all the time, incessantly. When deposits become too large, articular cartilage begins to deteriorate.
Tophi often form - yellowish nodules. Over time, urolithiasis begins to develop. Also, signs of gout in men indicate a lack of mobility. You can find out how the disease progresses in women in the article: Symptoms of gout in women
In order to prescribe treatment, external and obvious manifestations of the disease are not enough. The blood is analyzed for biochemistry. All joints are subject to radiography. It is necessary to find out the condition of the synovial fluid and perform a kidney puncture biopsy.
In the early stages or as a preventive measure, a diet is prescribed and medications are prescribed. Fatty foods, foods difficult to digest, and alcohol are excluded from food. The diet may vary depending on the complexity of the stage. It is important to strictly follow the specialist’s recommendations.
What is gout? This is a chronic disease in which urate is deposited in the joints. Urates are salts of uric acid. Gout is also called the disease of kings; it arose a long time ago; Hippocrates himself witnessed its occurrence. It appears due to excess in food or excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Gout used to be very common, but now this disease affects 0.3% of the world's population, or about 3 people out of 1000. Most patients are among the male population over the age of 40, but women are no exception to the rule; women increases after menopause.
First, an attack of gouty arthritis occurs - the first symptom, i.e. one joint becomes inflamed, most often this joint is the same bone of the big toe, but cases of inflammation of the knee or ankle joints are not uncommon. An attack of gout makes itself felt late at night or early in the morning, when the body is relaxed and in a state of deep rest. A pressing, throbbing pain appears in the area of the inflamed joint, the skin on the joint turns red and begins to shine, and the temperature of the inflamed tissue rises. You can feel with your hand that the sore spot has become much hotter than the rest of the body. The joint itself swells. During the day, the pain subsides, and many people stop paying attention to it, but closer to night, the pain returns and often intensifies. The duration of such attacks is 2-3 days, rarely a week or more. When the attack repeats, not only the inflamed joint hurts, but also the adjacent joints. If gout is left untreated, the joint may partially collapse.
Gout can be an alarming signal for the onset of urolithiasis; stones can form in the kidneys and urinary ducts due to the high content of uric acid in the body.
Growths appear on the hands and feet of people with gout. These growths burst after some time, and at the site of the formation of the growth you can see the characteristic whitish shine of uric acid crystals; its level in the body is significantly increased. Sick people feel intense, pressing pain in the inflamed joints, which prevents them from leading a healthy lifestyle, moving fully, and doing physical work. And the work of men is very often associated with physical exertion and physical activity, which brings significant discomfort and pain.
Tophi - signs of gout, otherwise - gouty nodes, arise due to the deposition of salts in the joints, the body perceives these salts as a foreign body and tries to get rid of them. The brain sends leukocytes to the site of urate accumulation to neutralize salt deposits. Severe inflammation and pain occurs in the joint area.
The formation of kidney stones due to gout can cause kidney failure, so you need to monitor your health, because kidney failure can cause death.
It is almost impossible to relieve throbbing pain during an attack; medications that can relieve pain do not help.
From the outset, gout is caused by excess levels of uric acid in the body, which in turn gets deposited in the joints and causes inflammation. During normal metabolism, uric acid is excreted from the body along with urine and its level in the human body remains normal, but if for some reason a metabolic failure occurs, the body begins to accumulate uric acid and removes it only partially.
Why does gout occur more often in men? Frequent hypothermia in winter can cause gout. Fans of winter fishing and hiking, sleeping in tents and snowdrifts are more likely to get sick than those who stay and work in warm conditions.
Excessive alcohol consumption also threatens gout, because the functioning of the liver and pancreas is disrupted. Taking certain medications that interfere with the functioning of the kidneys and liver can cause an attack of inflammation of the joint tissues and gouty arthritis as a side effect.
Painkillers will not help with a gout attack; they can only worsen the patient's condition, causing nausea, heartburn or vomiting. When pain develops in the inflamed joint tissue, if the inflammation occurs in the lower extremities, you need to put the case in a supine position and put your legs on a hill. It is better to place a pillow or a rolled-up blanket under your feet. Bed rest should be observed. If your hand is inflamed, you need to immobilize the joint and ensure that it remains completely at rest.
It is better to limit food intake, but you need to drink, and the more, the better. To neutralize acid, you need to use alkali, and an attack of gout is caused by acid. Still mineral water, jelly or oat decoction will help greatly. If the pain is completely unbearable, then ice can be applied to the inflamed joint tissue for a few minutes, trying to avoid frostbite. Ice is applied for no longer than 5-10 minutes. You need to drink a large amount of liquid per day, about three liters, giving preference to milk and compote rather than simple clean drinking water. For food, you can eat liquid broths and soups, avoiding anything fried or spicy.
After the ice is removed, it is worth applying a compress with ointment, for example, Vishnevsky, to the inflamed joint. Then the attack of gout will pass much faster - within 2-3 days.
Gout most often affects those joints that have previously been injured. To prevent new attacks, you need to wear loose, comfortable shoes, avoid tight shoes, and give preference to sneakers. Avoid hypothermia of your hands and feet; in cold weather, wear warm woolen socks on your feet and gloves or mittens on your hands. Men who work as drivers, car mechanics, in places where they have to work outside with their bare hands in winter to repair breakdowns, should take care of their health and carry warming ointment for their hands and feet.
If you experience frequent attacks of gout, you will have to completely reconsider your lifestyle. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption slow down the removal of uric acid from the body. From alcoholic drinks, it is mainly beer that needs to be removed. Good wine can sometimes be consumed in reasonable quantities.
Men who are obese and overweight are more likely to develop gouty arthritis. To prevent the occurrence of gout or new attacks, you need to follow a special diet. It is necessary to limit the intake of meat and fish foods, as well as all fatty foods, legumes, tomatoes and mushrooms. The diet will normalize body weight and reduce the risk of new attacks of the disease. The use of salt should be eliminated completely; if you cannot eat completely unsalted food, then prepared food can be added with salt, the norm is 10 g of salt per day. This is about half a teaspoon. Food should be prepared completely without salt, and added to already prepared food before consumption. It is better to replace tea and coffee with herbal decoctions of mint or rose hips.
Treatment of gout is best done comprehensively. After the acute attack is relieved, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment, which takes place in several stages:
There are many methods of treating gout using traditional medicine, but it is better to consult a doctor before using them.
Remedy No. 1. Take a large basin and fill it with wheat grains or any other grains. Before this, stand with your sore feet under a contrast shower, which should last at least 15 minutes; if the joints in your hands hurt, then your hands need to be massaged with soap and running water. After a contrast shower, the sore limbs should be lowered into a basin and the grains should be crushed with your fingers. The duration of treatment is 10 days, the frequency is 2 times a year.
Remedy No. 2. Gout-affected limbs are perfectly soothed by chamomile baths. Not to be confused with the common cornflower and the odorless three-rib, they will not bring much-needed relief. Chamomile should be brewed in boiling water and left for 20-30 minutes, then make a bath. The broth should be at such a temperature that it does not burn; the duration of the bath should be until the water has cooled. The duration of treatment is 5 days.
Remedy No. 4. Boiled rice with a small addition of salt (add salt after cooking, not during cooking) has a beneficial effect on sore joint tissues. The rice diet promotes weight loss and normalizes kidney and liver function. The duration of the rice diet is no more than 3 days. For breakfast, boiled rice and a glass of milk. For lunch, rice with vegetables and two glasses of compote. For dinner, rice with raisins and any fruit with fruit compote, tea and coffee are best excluded from the diet, but still mineral water should be drunk in large quantities - at least 2 liters per day.
Myth 1. Gout in men can be treated with beer. It is believed that gout occurs due to the fact that the kidneys cease to perform their function of removing uric salt from the body; it begins to accumulate in the tissues of the joint. This is true, but there is no need to treat the kidneys. Beer will not cleanse or improve kidney function in case of gout, but will only worsen the situation. The body will begin to produce urates with redoubled force, which the kidneys will not be able to remove, which will lead to a new attack or a severe exacerbation of the disease.
Myth 2. Bone protrusion occurs only in women. This is not true; men also experience swelling in their big toe joints. Moreover, a growing bone is not always a manifestation of gout. Sometimes this is a consequence of wearing uncomfortable or too narrow shoes.
Myth 3. Only alcoholics get gout. This statement is also erroneous. Gout can also appear in completely non-drinking people. Alcohol can only become the reason why a metabolic failure occurred in the patient’s body and uric acid was no longer excreted from the body in full, but began to be deposited in the joints.
Myth 4. Gout is an incurable disease. This statement is also a figment of someone’s imagination. Gout disease has been known to people since antiquity, when Hippocrates still lived. And even then, ancient doctors successfully fought the disease, although they simply relieved the symptoms of exacerbation. The treatment itself takes a long time and requires an integrated approach: medications, massage, baths, a healthy lifestyle, giving up alcohol, caffeine and smoking, eliminating prolonged sitting or standing, more sports and movement.
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Gout in men is a metabolic disorder characterized by the deposition of uric acid salts (urates) in the joints. The disease occurs in approximately 0.5-2% of the population and mainly affects older men. Let's consider the main signs and treatment of gout in men, possible complications and preventive measures.
The occurrence of gout in the joints is based on the persistent accumulation of uric acid in the body due to a decrease in the rate of its excretion by the kidneys. As a result, hyperuricemia develops - a sharp increase in the concentration of uric acid in the blood, followed by the deposition of crystals of its salts on the surface of the joints. Most often, uric acid accumulates in large and small joints of the lower extremities, periodically causing acute attacks of inflammation.
The peak incidence in men occurs at the age of 40-50 years. Women suffer from gout 7-15 times less often, which is associated with the high ability of the sex hormones estrogen produced in their bodies to remove urates.
The main causes of gout in men include:
Risk factors for the development of joint gout in men also include consumption of excessive amounts of animal proteins and fats, obesity, trauma, and tumor diseases. It has been established that the pathology may be genetically determined, but the mechanism of its inheritance is not fully understood.
In the early stages, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is observed. There are no pronounced manifestations of the disease, but clinical analysis shows an excess of the normal level of urate in the blood or urine sediment.
Most often, the first signs of pathology develop suddenly against the background of complete well-being. Often provoking factors are errors in diet, overeating, alcohol abuse, and stress. Acute gouty arthritis occurs, characterized by inflammation of the joints. Usually the small joints of the big toes on one foot are affected first. Then the pathology can spread to other joints: knee, ankle, elbow, wrist, metatarsophalangeal. A gout attack lasts on average from several days to 5-6 weeks.
Characteristic symptoms of gout on the legs in men during an exacerbation include:
Over time, tophi form in the affected areas - painful, compacted, pineal-shaped areas of subcutaneous tissue with a diameter of up to 2 cm, containing a large number of uric acid crystals. Gouty nodes are usually localized in the thighs, legs, Achilles tendons, and above the affected joints of the foot. Sometimes the liquid contents of the formations are released through fistulas.
After the end of the gout attack, the intercritical period of the disease begins. At this stage, all symptoms of joint inflammation subside. With timely treatment and exclusion of provoking factors, remission can last a long time. However, any neglect of the doctor’s recommendations leads to a recurrence of the exacerbation.
The disease in the vast majority of cases becomes chronic, manifested by a wave-like alternation of periods of well-being and acute inflammation. At this stage, there is an accumulation of urates not only in the synovial fluid of the joint, but also in the tissues of the internal organs. There is a gradual deformation of the bone joints, often leading to loss of limb mobility and disability.
Gout often manifests itself as a secondary lesion of the urinary system: salt crystals are deposited in the ureters, bladder and renal pelvis, provoking the development of a persistent inflammatory process. Most men are diagnosed with chronic pyelonephritis and nephrolithiasis - the formation of kidney stones.
At the first signs of gout, you should immediately consult a doctor. At all stages of the pathology, except the initial one, urolithiasis can develop, often leading to renal failure.
Having dealt with the question of what gout is in men, we will consider the main methods for diagnosing the disease. The survey includes the following set of activities:
The most revealing are instrumental diagnostic methods. An X-ray or photo of gout in men can reveal characteristic joint deformation, accumulation of urate crystals, and damage to bone tissue.
The presence of excess uric acid in the blood or urine sediment is not the only and sufficient basis for making a diagnosis. Only 10-15% of men with elevated levels of urate in the body are confirmed to have gout.
Complex therapy is aimed at relieving painful symptoms of inflammation, preventing the development of relapses and complications. During an acute attack, treatment of gout in men includes two main measures:
To reduce the concentration of uric acid, you must adhere to a low-calorie vegetarian diet. Daily protein intake should not exceed 5 g. Useful foods for gout of the joints are:
In the absence of kidney problems, it is recommended to maintain sufficient drinking regime to eliminate uric acid salts. It is useful to drink alkaline mineral or pure filtered water with the addition of a slice of lemon or orange.
During an exacerbation of gout, the affected limb must be immobilized. Physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis, magnetic and laser therapy) in combination with drug treatment, as well as massage and exercise therapy, help eliminate discomfort and prevent relapses. As an additional method of treating gout in men at home, folk remedies have proven themselves well:
Chronic gout in men leads to the development of the following complications:
With early treatment for joint gout in men, the prognosis is favorable. Factors that aggravate the prognosis of the disease are the patient’s young age (up to 30-35 years), excess weight, the presence of metabolic disorders and concomitant kidney pathologies.
Gout of the joints in men is a serious chronic disease leading to serious consequences. The only condition for recovery is maintaining a healthy lifestyle and following all doctor’s recommendations.
Gout is a fairly rare disease that is characterized by the accumulation of uric acid salts in the joints. Gout is much more common in men than in women. It manifests itself in very painful attacks, and they can occur in any joint of the human body.
Contributing to the development of gout are obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, a passion for alcoholic beverages, as well as heredity - if you have close relatives who once suffered from gout, the risk of this disease increases significantly.
Gout is associated with metabolic disorders, so it most often occurs when there are problems with the excretion of purines from the body - substances found in large quantities in meat products, legumes, certain types of fish, mushrooms, asparagus, cocoa and tea, but most of all – in red wine and beer. People whose diets are rich in these foods are most at risk of developing gout.
Why can purines be retained in the body? This is often associated with kidney disease, due to which uric acid salts are poorly filtered and accumulate in tissues.
Gout can be triggered by diseases such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, atherosclerosis, as well as taking diuretics, aspirin and drugs to treat high blood pressure.
Gout almost always appears suddenly, often at night. The following symptoms of gout in men are distinguished:
In advanced stages, gout can cause urolithiasis and sometimes pyelonephritis.
It is impossible to cure an acute attack of gout in a short time, but some measures will help reduce pain. The patient must strictly observe bed rest. It is recommended to place a pillow or rolled blanket under the sore limbs so that they are located above body level. If the pain is completely unbearable, you can cool them with ice. A compress of dimexide or Vishnevsky ointment will also help relieve acute pain.
In case of acute attacks, you will need to strictly limit your food intake - do not eat anything other than vegetable broths or very thin porridges cooked in milk.
In this case, it is necessary to drink a lot of fluid - at least three liters of water per day.
Painkillers do little to help relieve pain. To eliminate an acute attack of gout, doctors prescribe the following medications:
Elimination of an acute attack is only part of the therapeutic treatment of gout. It is necessary to get rid of the very reason why this disease began. Well, since the main cause of gout is an excess of certain salts in the body, it will be necessary to normalize their removal from the patient’s body.
The most important place in the treatment of gout in men is given to a proper diet. By limiting certain foods in the diet, the accumulation of salts in the body can be significantly reduced. The following principles should be adhered to in nutrition:
If you consult a doctor in a timely manner, curing gout in men is not very difficult. Any independent treatment can not only give zero effect, but also cause only complications of the disease.
Gout, known to mankind since ancient times, has repeatedly undergone changes in social attitudes throughout its history. In ancient times it was considered a “disease of vice”, in the era of enlightenment - a “disease of kings”, at the beginning of the 20th century - a “disease of geniuses”.
Having not lost its relevance over the centuries, this disease continues to worry the stronger sex: “gout - what kind of disease in men, how to treat it?”, “what is gout in men on the legs?”, “what are the causes of gout in men on the legs?” , “What are the signs of gout on the legs in men?”, “What is the most effective treatment for gout on the legs in men?” These are just a few of the questions that patients come to the doctor with.
Our article will discuss the causes of gout, its symptoms and treatment specifically in men, since Hippocrates noted that this disease does not affect young women and eunuchs. This “gender injustice” is due to the fact that estrogens produced in the female body can increase the removal of uric acid from the body in the urine, preventing it from accumulating in excess in the body. Accordingly, manifestations of gout in men who are not protected by these hormones are observed on average 9 times more often than in women.
Of course, the characteristics of the hormonal status are not the only cause of gout in men, but other causes of gout in both men and women can potentiate the development of this disease with the same frequency, and we will talk about them below.
Hyperuricemia can be caused by excessive intake of purine bases into the body, the breakdown product of which it is. And they come mainly from food: red meats and fish, coffee, cocoa and chocolate, cheeses, sausages, and alcoholic beverages. Intemperance in the use of these products inevitably leads to the deposition of urates in tissues. In ancient times, not everyone could afford to abuse such products, which is why gout was called the “disease of aristocrats,” because its presence indicated a certain level of well-being. The relationship between the development of gout, the severity of its symptoms and the amount of treatment in men with nutrition, or rather its imbalance and irrationality, is obvious. With the rise in the standard of living of the population, the incidence of this disease has also increased - gout has truly become the scourge of overeating humanity, while in third world countries it is quite rare.
On the other hand, the concentration of uric acid in the blood also increases when its excretion in the urine is impaired. This happens with various kidney pathologies and other conditions associated with the development of their function.
In the early stages, this metabolic imbalance does not manifest itself in any way - laboratory examination may reveal an increase in the concentration of urinary
acids in the blood or urate crystals in the urine sediment, but there are no other symptoms of the disease.
Less commonly, hyperuricemia develops with tumor diseases, pathologically high physical activity, sepsis (inflammation of the blood) - this is the so-called reactive gout.
The first signs of gout in men usually appear suddenly: against a background of relative well-being, often after errors in diet and alcohol consumption, an acute attack of gouty arthritis (inflammation of the joint) occurs. This arthritis can affect the shoulder, elbow, wrist and other joints, but the most characteristic first signs of gout appear on the legs - in men, as well as in women, the first metatarsophalangeal joint (big toe) and the joints of the arch of the foot are “attacked”. It is no coincidence that when translated, “gout” literally means “foot in a trap.” Symptoms of gout with inflammation of the joints on the legs in men are as follows: sharp, unbearable, burning pain in the joint suddenly occurs (patients often call them “gnawing”), the joint sharply increases in size, turns red, swells, and movements in it become impossible. This is the so-called gout attack. The process is usually one-sided.
When the acute symptoms of arthritis (while taking medications, physiotherapy or other folk remedies for treating gout) in men subside, the disease moves into the next phase - the interictal period . This is a period of relative well-being, during which a person may not be bothered by anything.
But if provoking factors are not excluded, lifestyle is not changed, and exacerbation prevention is not carried out, a gout attack will occur again. With a wave-like alternation of interictal periods and exacerbations, the disease develops into a chronic tophi form. In this phase, in addition to the articular symptoms of gout, men develop tophi - deposits of urate salts. Tophi can be external, forming within the soft tissues, often in the projection of the affected joints (they look like whitish-yellow rounded dense plaques), and internal, when salts are deposited directly in the joint cavity.
Other common signs of gout in men include secondary damage to the urinary organs: an increased content of urates in the urine leads to their deposition in the bladder, ureters, but most often in the renal pelvis in the form of urate stones. Urolithiasis develops, often accompanied by secondary inflammation of the affected kidney - pyelonephritis.
The consequence of gout in men can often be disability , because with constantly recurring inflammation, irreversible changes are formed in the affected joint, secondary degenerative arthrosis develops, which ultimately leads to persistent disturbances in movement in it. Tophi also entail not only a cosmetic defect, but also serious complications: they can spontaneously open and suppurate, increasing the risk of purulent inflammation in a nearby joint.
Kidney damage is dangerous due to the development of such an acute condition as renal colic . Often, urates form a large “coral-shaped” stone, which can completely block the lumen of the pelvis, complicating the outflow of urine and provoking the development of hydronephrotic transformation (kidney - a bag of urine) resulting in chronic renal failure.
Given the vivid and specific symptoms of the disease, it is quite easy to suspect gout. If a therapist or general practitioner has such suspicions, he will refer the patient for a special examination, namely:
When the results of the examination confirm the shop doctor’s suspicions and the presence of gout is beyond doubt, the patient is referred to a rheumatologist. If a person experiences an intractable gout attack, he is subject to emergency hospitalization in a specialized medical institution.
If a violation of a balanced diet leads to the development of signs of gout, then treatment in men is diet and more diet. The results of clinical studies have proven that a balanced diet with a limitation of purine-containing foods significantly reduces the concentration of uric acid in the blood serum.
The list of “forbidden delicacies”, the use of which should be limited, and preferably excluded altogether, includes:
If, despite following a diet, the symptoms of gout in men persist, treatment with medication is required.
In the acute inflammation phase, when a gout attack occurs, colchicine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticosteroids (GCS) are used.
NSAIDs are the “gold standard” in the treatment of active gouty arthritis and are widely used in the treatment of gout on all continents of the planet. They quickly block inflammation in the joint and articular syndrome, allowing restoration of joint mobility and returning a person to normal life. However, the disadvantage of their use is that with regular long-term use they can potentiate the development of ulcerative-erosive changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa, as well as increase the risk of liver and kidney failure. Therefore, patients taking NSAIDs for a long time need the prescription of gastroprotectors (literally, “protecting the stomach”) and dynamic medical supervision.
Known for many years, the herbal drug colchicine (an alkaloid of Colchicum splendid) is used to treat gouty arthritis to this day, as it has a good anti-inflammatory effect combined with the ability to limit the crystallization of uric acid.
GCS are anti-inflammatory hormones with high therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of gout. They are used in solutions for intra-articular administration. Just like the medications of the previous group, GCS are far from harmless, and even when applied topically they can cause a number of undesirable effects, for example local osteoporosis. Therefore, it is not recommended to carry out intra-articular blockades more than three times a year in the same joint.
If NSAIDs, corticosteroids and colchicine do not help during a gout attack, it is recommended to switch to immunosuppressants . These drugs are used primarily to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but have also proven effective for gout. Their strong anti-inflammatory effect is based on the inhibition of certain mechanisms of the immune response, but they also have a number of side effects and contraindications.
Treatment of gout in men during the interictal period consists of prescribing specific therapy to prevent the formation and breakdown of existing monosodium urate crystals. This treatment is prescribed for frequent relapses of acute arthritis, the formation of tophi, and the development of urolithiasis.
Drugs that have a similar effect include Allopurinol , which reduces the formation of uric acid in the body by blocking certain enzymes, and Probenecid, which disrupts the reabsorption of uric acid in the renal tubules and increases its excretion from the body in the urine. The latter is not recommended for use if you already have kidney stones.
But how to treat gout in men if the diet did not bring the expected effect and the symptoms of the disease persist?
Physiotherapy , has been an excellent method of complex treatment of gout, allowing to enhance the effect of medications, while reducing the duration of their administration and dosage .
The most effective methods of physical treatment for gout include magnetic therapy and cryotherapy . The advantages of magnetic therapy include its strong anti-inflammatory effect, a fairly “mild” effect, practically not accompanied by the development of side effects, and the ability to carry it out at home. Modern medicine allows the patient to carry out the procedure at home without any difficulty, using compact magnetic therapy preparations for home use.
Cryotherapy , i.e. exposure to cold has an excellent anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effect during acute attacks of gouty arthritis. Like magnetic therapy, cryotherapy can be done independently at home, without the help of medical specialists. Having such a device at home will help the patient cope with a gout attack if it occurs at a time when it is impossible to get immediate medical help.
Having examined the main symptoms of gout, methods of its treatment and dietary features in men, I would like to once again emphasize that the main key to successful prevention and victory over any disease is, first of all, a healthy lifestyle.
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