Gout is a disease that occurs due to improper metabolism. It is characterized by the deposition of uric acid salts on the joints, occurs in a chronic form and is practically untreatable.
The urate level increases when certain foods are consumed, and therefore, in addition to traditional treatment, it is necessary to follow a diet for gout, a sample menu of which is given below.
Diet for gout during an exacerbation is important to reduce the amount of uric acid in the body. A dietary feature is the exclusion of prohibited foods (that is, rich in purines) from the diet. Food is taken often and in small portions. Dishes must be balanced.
Certain foods high in purines are prohibited:
For gout, it is recommended to use:
This list of permitted and prohibited products is not complete. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor about what you can eat and what you will have to deny yourself.
Eating according to diet No. 6 improves metabolism, but must be adjusted by a doctor for hypertensive patients due to the abundance of drinking.
Changing your diet is designed to reduce pain during attacks of gouty arthritis. Dishes made from red meat and fish are excluded, and vegetarian recipes are introduced. The food is prepared sparingly.
The diet for exacerbation of gout is based on the inclusion of soups with vegetable broth, fermented milk products, pasta, cereals, and vegetables. Once a week you can have a fasting day: eat fruits, vegetables and nothing else. They can be of any heat treatment, for example, boiled carrots or fresh apples.
Products are distributed in even portions throughout the day.
To ease the course of the disease and increase the time gap between attacks, it is necessary to follow the so-called antipurine diet. But you need to remember that in this case fasting is not allowed.
Nutrition includes avoiding foods containing purines. That is, the antipurine diet, in addition to the main list, prohibits the use of:
The following products are encouraged:
When drawing up a weekly menu, it is important to remember the variety of dishes that can help you control your weight and stabilize your condition.
Diet No. 6 is characterized by replacing animal protein products with plant proteins. An approximate menu for a week for gout is shown in the table. Below are recipes for some dishes.
Meal time
The following dishes are an incomplete diet for gout.
It must be remembered that the patient is required to drink sugar-free liquids in the amount of 2 liters per day. You can drink alkaline non-carbonated mineral water, citrus and vegetable juices, lingonberry and cranberry juice, jelly, green tea, rose hip decoction.
Full-fat milk is not recommended - preference is given to fermented milk products: kefir, yogurt, whey.
We should not forget about the combination of dishes. Potatoes are not eaten with meat or fish, but go well with other vegetables. Tomatoes are not washed down with jelly, they are not suitable for dishes containing starch (for example, potatoes), but dietary meat is combined with them. Fruits are not eaten immediately after meat.
Diet No. 6 for gout of the feet is irreplaceable: nourishing, low-calorie, will get rid of excess weight and reduce the load on the joints of the big toes. The menu, despite the impressive list of prohibited products, is actually varied.
Many housewives give advice for preparing delicious dietary dishes. For example, for cottage cheese pancakes with sour cream, it is better to use recipes without eggs. But egg omelettes are baked in an oven, microwave or double boiler - it is not advisable to fry them in a frying pan.
Table No. 6 begins to scare many patients when the doctor lists what can be eaten and what is strictly prohibited. And only after a while comes the understanding that this diet is not scary at all. On the contrary, you can cook many delicious dishes without limiting yourself too much. Of course, you will have to give up fried meat, but no one prohibits boiled or cooked in the sleeve. Cakes can also be replaced with equally delicious desserts.
Weak tea with the addition of a slice of lemon or mint leaves is allowed.
A diet for gout on the legs includes a high content of vitamins B and C in the dishes. Buckwheat dishes introduced into the diet enrich the body with B vitamins (B1, B2, B9) and increase immunity.
In the acute phase, it is better to give preference to recipes for liquid dishes.
The given menu for each day is approximate; it is easy to swap recipes and come up with your own, focusing on the list of permitted products.
Tophi in gout, photos of which will be shown below, are accumulations of uric acid crystals. They concentrate in the soft tissues surrounding the joints of the feet, hips and legs. Tophi are specific manifestations of gout, which develops against the background of increased uric acid levels.
The term tophi means a lesion of the subcutaneous tissue (see photo 1). Nodular formations appear with a long course of gout and a high level of urate in the body, which is observed when an increased amount of uric acid is produced. Tophi can have different sizes (from a few mm to 2 cm).
The skin of the affected area takes on a yellowish tint. When the growths become inflamed, fistulas form in them, through which the contents are discharged out. The substance located in the cavity of the tophi can have a different consistency (liquid, creamy or solid). When the fistula breaks through, an ulcer appears. After some time, it spontaneously tightens, after which the contents of the growth are released again.
Photo 1. Subcutaneous tissue lesion
The formation of tophi can contribute to inflammation of the joint capsule. This disease is called bursitis. If the pathological process affects the tendons, tenosynovitis occurs. It is accompanied by severe pain. Tophi gout has a slow progression. The growths appear several years after the first symptoms of the disease appear. In some forms of gout, while taking diuretics, tophi may occur much earlier than usual. Nodes are detected (see photo 2):
Seals are most often located under the skin, but they may appear in the tissues of internal organs and bone marrow. This complicates the diagnostic and removal processes.
Photo 2. Location of tophi
Uric acid in the body is formed during the breakdown of purines; it is found in the blood of any person. Normally, its level should not exceed 1000 mg. Purines are produced through metabolic processes and also come from some foods. In blood plasma, uric acid forms salts - sodium urates. As their number increases, hyperuricemia develops, against which gout occurs. The early stages of the disease are asymptomatic, and the person is not aware of its presence. Meanwhile, salts continue to be deposited in soft tissues, causing irreparable harm to the body. Tophi can also appear in malignant bone marrow tumors and chronic renal failure.
Gout is considered one of the manifestations of metabolic disorders. Uric acid salts first affect the joints and then the internal organs. Tophi are most often found in men who have crossed the 40-year mark. This is a characteristic sign of a long course of gout and a significant increase in the level of uric acid in the body. The severity of pathological changes caused by gout depends on the number and size of growths.
Gouty tophi is usually discovered after an attack. It is a dense nodule with clear boundaries. The contents of the growth have a viscous consistency, sometimes granular. The surface is uneven; if the tophi is located subcutaneously, it can be seen with the naked eye. The formation of fistulas is accompanied by the appearance of light discharge. The addition of a bacterial infection is extremely rare.
Tophi for gout: how to remove them? The most effective way to get rid of salt deposits is surgery. It is used for complicated forms of the disease. During the operation, soft tissues are cleared of uric acid salts. In addition to surgical interventions, modern clinics use plasmapheresis - the removal of toxins using a special device. Removing tophi for gout does not guarantee a complete cure. Some time after the operation, the growths appear again.
You can also get rid of tophi using conservative methods. Long-term treatment with the use of uricosuric drugs that reduce the amount of uric acid in the body is necessary. You can reduce the size of the growths with the help of medications that accelerate the excretion of this substance by the kidneys. Benzbromarone is taken once a day at the dose prescribed by the attending physician. Probenecid is administered 2 times a day. Etebenecid is an analogue of the previous drug, which has fewer side effects. The daily dose is divided into 4 doses, the course of treatment lasts 10 days, after which a week-long break is taken. The Sulfinpyrazone tablet must be taken with milk, this is done after meals.
The active substance Allopurinol affects the synthesis of uric acid. As a result, the amount of urate entering the blood decreases sharply. The dosage of the drug is selected based on the examination results. Treatment involves compliance with a special drinking regimen. The amount of fluid consumed must be increased to 2 liters per day.
Surgical removal of tophi is advisable only when cartilaginous or connective tissue is destroyed, there are signs of inflammation and necrosis, damage to nerve endings, and the presence of aesthetic defects.
For gout, traditional methods of treatment are also used. Applying iodine solution to the affected areas helps reduce the size of tophi. It is mixed with crushed aspirin tablets.
Warm baths with sea salt help relieve pain.
Decoctions and infusions of medicinal plants are taken internally:
The most effective for gout is a homeopathic medicine based on wild rosemary and club moss. Treatment of tophi should be combined with diet.
Gout is a disease associated with metabolic disorders when excess amounts of uric acid accumulate in the body. Uric acid salts (sodium urate) begin to be deposited in the joints, which leads to inflammation and other organs.
People who consume large quantities of meat, spicy foods, and abuse alcoholic beverages are at risk. Other factors that accompany the development of the disease may be obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, nervous stress, and heredity.
To confirm the diagnosis, a blood test is done to measure uric acid levels. When analyzing urine, protein is diagnosed in it.
Gout most often affects the joints around the big toes. Most gout attacks occur at night or early in the morning. The acute period of the disease can last up to seven days. The disease is chronic in nature with periodic relapses.
Over time, attacks are repeated more and more often, the disease affects new joints, and bone destructuring may occur. In people who have had gout for more than four years, dense yellowish bumps form around the joints under the skin. From time to time, these formations may burst, releasing whitish crumbs.
Complications of gout can include the formation of kidney stones, hypertension, renal colic, damage to the heart muscle and heart valves.
A diet for gout on the legs involves avoiding eating foods rich in purines. To reduce the level of uric acid in the body, it is necessary to significantly limit the consumption of animal protein.
Some types of meat and fish, offal, yeast, caviar, mushrooms, legumes, and chocolate should be excluded. 50% of purines are released into the broth during cooking, so consuming broths is also not recommended. This applies to any broth (meat, fish, mushroom). Simple carbohydrates and saturated fats also pose a certain danger.
When treating gout, it is important to eat regularly, not to starve or overeat. Fasting, as well as excess nutrition, provokes the release of uric acid. If you are overweight, extremely sudden weight loss is undesirable. Meals should be divided, at least five meals a day.
It is recommended to arrange fasting days, fruit or vegetable, once a week. On other days (2-3 times a week), it is allowed to eat a small amount of lean meat and fish products, boiled or baked; in the acute stage they are completely excluded.
If you have gout, be sure to drink enough fluids, while canned and carbonated drinks should be avoided. Alcohol is strictly prohibited in any dose, including low-alcohol drinks. It is recommended to drink alkaline mineral water, natural berry and fruit juices (especially citrus fruits), compotes and fruit drinks (especially cranberry and lingonberry), and rosehip decoction.
Water prevents the formation of kidney stones. Sugar is not added to drinks because sugar increases insulin levels in the blood, which slows down the elimination of uric acid. Cocoa, strong tea, coffee are limited due to their effect on the nervous system. You need to drink at least 1 glass of liquid 4-5 times a day an hour before meals, the volume of liquid consumed should be 2.5-3 liters per day.
This diet must be followed constantly; if exacerbations occur, the diet becomes more strict.
Outside of an exacerbation, lean meat and fish can be included in the menu 2-3 times a week in boiled and stewed form. Cutlets, meatballs, and soufflé are made from boiled meat or fish. Meat, fish, vegetables can be steamed or baked. From time to time, it is recommended to carry out short-term mono-diets or fasting days: vegetable, fruit (1.5 kg of vegetables or fruits per day), cottage cheese-kefir (400 grams of cottage cheese and 500 ml of kefir). A rice-apple fasting day is beneficial: 75 gr. rice is boiled in 750 ml of milk, 250 g is also boiled. apples without sugar (in the form of compote). Rice and apples are eaten during the day in three doses.
During exacerbations, meat and fish are completely excluded, fasting days are arranged every other day. This alkalinizes the urine and increases the solubility of uric acid.
For the first course, you can prepare vegetarian soups: borscht, cabbage soup, okroshka, peasant soup (with potatoes and cereals), milk soups.
If the disease worsens, in the first days it is recommended to only drink liquid, then switch to a dairy diet.
It has long been known that honey for gout not only relieves severe pain, but also promotes the rapid removal of uric acid from the body. Which, as a result of metabolic disorders, accumulates in the body and can lead to very serious problems, but it is the joints that suffer first.
This disease mostly affects the male half of humanity, less often the female half. This is due to several fundamental factors: large muscle mass, poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption.
The development of this disease begins with inflammation of only one joint, and, as practice and observation show: pain begins in the ankle, knee joint or big toe. The manifestation of the first symptom is typical in the morning or late at night, and the pain is so strong that it cannot be tolerated. During the daytime the pain subsides a little.
Then the joint, in which a large amount of uric acid has accumulated, begins to swell, the temperature in the area affected by gout rises sharply, nodules may appear, and the skin turns red and begins to shine. This attack can last from 3 days to several weeks. The next attack, after a short remission, may spread to other joints.
If you do not attach importance to these symptoms and put off going to the doctor, then attacks will occur more and more often. And over time, without proper treatment, gout will become chronic, and this threatens the complete destruction of the affected joints. In ancient times, this disease was called “royal”, since it was the highest ranks of the state who were characterized by metabolic disorders due to excessive consumption of various foods, alcohol and tobacco.
As we have already found out, the main reasons for the development of gout are metabolic disorders as a result of poor diet and lifestyle. So why is joint damage typical for the male half of humanity? All this is the result of:
Of course, this way of life can be found among the fair half of humanity, but much less often. Thus, studies have shown that among middle-aged men, gout occurs 8 times more often than among women of the same age. Inflammation of the joints, as a result of the accumulation of uric acid, is typical for women over 50 years of age.
Uncharacteristic reasons for the development of gout include: heredity and the use of certain drugs that disrupt kidney function and prevent the normal removal of uric acid from the body. Consuming honey daily will not only bring your sore joints back to normal, but will also fill your body with useful microelements.
Alas, every year the number of those who suffer from joint diseases increases. This is due to the fact that modern people eat large amounts of fatty fish, meat and, of course, alcohol. An interesting observation in favor of this fact says that during periods of military conflicts, when a person’s diet is limited: the percentage of those who suffer from gout decreases sharply.
An integrated approach to the treatment of gout is the best way out of this situation, which should include: drug treatment, exercise and, of course, the right diet.
During the treatment of gout, it is necessary to completely exclude sweets from the diet: chocolates, sweets, etc. All this can and even should be replaced exclusively with a natural product - honey. But, first of all, you need to go to the hospital to see a doctor and get comprehensive treatment. After all, self-medication of diseased joints can only lead to a deterioration in already compromised health.
Also, many doctors recommend gradually losing weight during the treatment of gout - this will also speed up the process of removing uric acid. But, you need to do this wisely and without collateral harm to the body. You should also completely stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Timely measures taken to localize and treat gout can delay the occurrence of attacks in the future.
As we know, honey is a completely natural product that has phenomenal healing and preventive properties. Almost no traditional medicine recipe is complete without the use of honey, and this says a lot about its healing abilities.
Many patients ask the same question: is it possible to use honey for gout? The answer is a clear yes, of course. Moreover, you need to consume honey not only during treatment, but also during the period of remission. Possessing pronounced anti-inflammatory properties, honey relieves inflammation and joint pain, as well as:
The presence of enzymes in honey allows it to take an active part in the digestion process. Honey also has bactericidal and analgesic properties, so it is often used for external use for joint pain, arthrosis, arthritis and rheumatism.
Please note that only high-quality and natural honey products have medicinal properties.
Among other things, honey has a number of beneficial side effects, namely:
Thus, by taking honey every day, you get a huge supply of energy and nutrients that help the body heal itself in a short period and without any serious side effects.
Like any traditional medicine product, honey has some contraindications that must be taken into account when planning treatment for gout. The first thing you should pay attention to is an allergy that may appear after contact with a bee product. Alas, honey, despite all its beneficial properties, is also a very strong allergen.
To prevent serious side effects after consuming honey, you must first consult a doctor and undergo the necessary tests, if necessary. If you are predisposed to allergies, it is best to completely exclude honey from your diet.
You should also avoid taking honey as a treatment for diabetes. Although some doctors practice using nectar in limited quantities to support the human immune system during drug treatment.
Honey is strictly prohibited for consumption by patients who suffer from the latter form of obesity. Since gout is recommended to lose weight, and honey, rich in carbohydrates, does not contribute to this. In any case, all the pros and cons should be discussed with your doctor.
To prepare homemade honey tincture you will need:
With poor nutrition, a large amount of uric acid accumulates in the body, which does not have time to be excreted by the kidneys. When this acid increases in the blood, it begins to crystallize and salt deposition occurs. These deposits form growths on the joints, which cause inflammation and severe pain. Treatment of the disease usually comes down to proper nutrition and taking medications that reduce the level of uric acid in the blood, such as allopurinol.
The main cause of the disease is excessive stress on the joints and poor nutrition. Gout often affects weightlifters and workers who experience intense physical exertion. This disease haunts those who love to eat tasty food and do not monitor the fat content and calorie content of their food. Incorrect and late treatment of gout can cause the appearance of an even more serious disease called rheumatoid arthritis.
Diet for gout on the legs
If you have gout, you must strictly adhere to a certain diet, especially during the acute period of the disease. There is a special diet for gout on the legs. This diet is aimed at reducing the level of uric acid in the blood to the required level. To do this, you will have to exclude a certain group of foods from your diet. This group includes foods that contain large amounts of purine bases. Most purines are found in fatty meat and fish, as well as in smoked meats and offal. Following a diet for gout on the legs also excludes the use of broths based on fatty meats and fish. Meat can only be eaten boiled, three hundred grams per week; it must be lean. Eliminate legumes and limit the amount of mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus, celery, radishes, herbs and sorrel. You should not drink green tea; the amount of coffee should be reduced. Sweet lovers will have to give up such products as chocolate. Preservatives also contain purines, avoid store-bought water and juice. Eat as little salt, pepper, mustard and horseradish as possible. Alcohol is completely contraindicated.
If you have gout, you need to consume more dairy products. You can eat any flour products, except butter dough. Eat more fresh and cooked vegetables, fruits other than plums, figs, raspberries and grapes, including raisins. Don't eat more than two tomatoes a day. Eggs can be eaten in any form, but no more than one per day. A proper diet for gout on the legs is of course very important during the acute period of the disease, but for the full course of treatment it is necessary to urgently go to the hospital. Only a doctor can determine the correct diagnosis, prescribe treatment and prescribe all necessary medications.
In medicine, the term “tophi” refers to nodular subcutaneous growths characteristic of the advanced stage of a disease such as gout. This disease occurs when the metabolic process in the body is disrupted. The failure occurs due to the increased amount of purines that fill a person’s daily diet - often poor nutrition is a causative factor in the formation of gout.
Purines promote the deposition of uric acid, which is converted into crystalline compounds and subsequently, in the chronic course of gout, tophi appear - on average, for their manifestation it takes at least 5 years of “neighborhood” with the disease.
A dense tumor-like ball under the skin is a tophi. The location of these formations may be:
Most often, tophi are localized on the ears, in the area of the elbow joint, on the hands and feet. Less likely, but such cases have been recorded in practice; they can be found on the skin of the face, foreskin and scrotum, as well as on the cornea and sclera.
Gouty nodules stand out in contrast with their borders and increased density. At the site where tophi has formed, the skin will be rough to the touch and even have growths of the stratum corneum (hyperkeratosis).
If the formation is located in the subcutaneous tissue (closer to the surface), then the distinguishing feature will be the whitish color of the nodule with a yellowish tint, as in the photo. Although the depth of the tophi may vary. They are sometimes confused with nodules of rheumatoid origin, as the sizes can vary from small to large in diameter.
Often the formed tophi retains its static parameters. By this time, the patient is already taking all measures to cure gout. However, if treatment is delayed, the disease progresses and there is a risk of tumor nodes growing to enormous sizes. Moreover, due to growth, tophi begin to destroy nearby tissues. The person experiences strong painful sensations.
Under the pressure of the resulting load, the gouty nodes seem to crack (open on their own), forming fistulas (fistulas). A kind of liquor is released - a mass that can have different consistencies - creamy, liquid or crumbly. Fistulas, in turn, can become covered with ulcerative wounds, which scar and then rupture again.
The tophi itself is already a sign of advanced gout, but it is recommended to conduct laboratory tests after an external examination to make an accurate diagnosis.
The drug treatment regimen is selected by the attending physician individually in each case, after studying the medical history and the stage of its pathological development.
General recommendations for gout, including the occurrence of tophi, is dietary nutrition, following which the patient reduces the content of uric acid in the body. Foods high in purines - legumes, meat and offal, fish (mainly river) are excluded from the daily diet.
Often patients with gout suffer from excess weight and need to get rid of it. However, a diet for them does not mean complete fasting; it will be enough to arrange fasting days and drink alkaline mineral waters.
If the tophi have nevertheless grown to large sizes, which destroy tissue, and their external and painful state prevents a person from living fully, a decision is made to resect (remove) the formations surgically. The prognosis is favorable - relapses of tophi are rare, provided proper treatment.
With a disease such as gout, traditional medicine treatment methods play a large and effective role. Firstly, gout cannot be cured forever, but with the help of traditional methods of treatment you can support the body, since pharmaceutical drugs often have many side effects. Therefore, by choosing the right herbal decoction or a set of procedures from traditional medicine, you can successfully treat and prevent gout.
Of the medicinal decoctions that are taken for gouty tophi, the following preparations are popular:
Take in equal shares:
After mixing the components of one or another collection, for brewing you need to take two tablespoons, which is poured with half a liter of boiling water. Covering the container, leave the collection to infuse until the morning. Next, this decoction is diluted with boiling water at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. for 0.5 water. Take half a glass several times a day. The course of taking the decoction is at least 2 months.
Massage for gout is considered a fairly effective auxiliary treatment. It is necessary to analyze in detail what goals can be achieved by performing the correct therapeutic massage for this disease, the technique of its implementation and basic recommendations from specialists.
Gout is a severe incurable endocrine disease associated with impaired protein metabolism and the deposition of uric acid salts in human joints, cartilage, ligaments and skin.
Often the disease begins to develop in the joints of the upper and lower extremities, including the hands and feet. Excess uric acid contributes to the development of an inflammatory process in the joints, leading to the destruction of its synovial membrane and all its tissues. For this reason, over time, the affected joint becomes deformed and becomes completely immobile. As the disease progresses, it affects the human musculoskeletal system and disrupts the functioning of many important internal organs and systems.
Recently, the disease has become extremely widespread. This is due to the following reasons:
Typically, the impetus for the development of gout is a combination of several provoking factors. Often this disease manifests itself with symptoms of gouty arthritis. These include:
Gout is characterized by a chronic course with periods of exacerbation and remission. The listed symptoms appear especially clearly during the period of exacerbation, which lasts from 2 days to several weeks.
An integrated approach is important in the treatment of pathology. In case of destructive joint lesions, surgery cannot be avoided. But in the early stages of the disease, a combination of medications with therapeutic exercises and massage gives excellent results. Now it’s worth considering the role of massage in the treatment of gout.
In the prevention and treatment of gout, massage is a necessary condition for improving the patient’s quality of life. The goals of a properly performed massage for this disease should be considered:
In order for therapeutic massage for this pathology to bring only benefit to the patient, when performing it, it is necessary to take into account the important recommendations of doctors. These include:
Only consistency, continuity and diligence in performing therapeutic massage are necessary postulates that will allow you to achieve tangible positive results in the treatment of a serious illness.
The area of massage for gout depends primarily on the location of the affected joint. If the inflammatory process is concentrated on the upper limb, then the place of its production should be the following parts of the body:
Particular attention in this procedure is paid to working out the collar area of the spine, gradually moving to the shoulder, forearm and the rest of the arm, including the fingers.
If the joints of the lower extremities are damaged, massage is performed in the following order:
In this case, each joint (hip, knee, ankle), the front and back of the legs, starting from hip to foot, heel, ankle, toes, is carefully worked out.
There are quite a few methods of performing massage for this pathology, but each of them is based on the following techniques:
For relaxation and preliminary mood, begin the indicated procedure for gout with a general massage. The person takes a comfortable position - sitting or lying down. As the tissues warm up and relax, muscle tension is relieved and joint pain subsides.
Then the muscles near the affected area are activated, without affecting the diseased joint. Gentle stroking is performed, followed by more persistent rubbing and kneading of the periarticular tissues. The procedure should not be painful.
After this, the massage therapist begins to work with the affected joint. His movements should be light, smooth, gentle, with a predominance of stroking and rubbing techniques.
The first massage sessions will help eliminate stiffness and pain in the affected joint and nearby tissues. Then the specialist’s work will be aimed at reducing malnutrition and developing muscle strength. The combination of massage techniques with passive and active movements will greatly increase the effectiveness of this treatment procedure.
The duration of the initial sessions is short, should be no more than 15 minutes. Gradually, the time of subsequent procedures increases and reaches 30–40 minutes. To obtain a noticeable effect, at least 15–16 of these sessions should be performed.
Thus, massage performed by a highly qualified specialist, in combination with other methods of treating gout, will significantly smooth out the patient’s symptoms of this incurable disease, which will improve his quality of life.