GOUT is a form of inflammatory arthritis that occurs when urate crystals accumulate in the joints and soft tissues.
Urate crystals form due to high levels of uric acid, and may cause joints to become inflamed and swollen, leading to sudden, severe attacks of pain that may hamper the movement of patients.
These attacks are called gout attacks or flares, and require medical attention.
What causes gout?
Gout is caused by hyperuricemia, or excessive uric acid in the body, which can be due to several factors.
The body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines, found in the body and food.
Individuals who eat too much purine-rich food, including red meat and seafood, may find their bodies struggling to break it down, leading to excessive uric acid in the body.
Patients with poor kidney function may also have difficulty in removing uric acid effectively.
Excessive uric acid leads to urate crystals accumulating in the joints, usually the toes, ankles, knees, elbows, wrists and fingers. This is why gout patients may experience sudden, sharp pains in these areas.
Besides gout, excessive uric acid can also lead to the formation of urate crystals in the urinary tract, resulting in uric acid stones, or kidney stones.
These stones can block the urinary tract and prevent it from excreting waste, which may cause a bacterial infection.
Diet control, lifestyle change
Those suffering from hyperuricemia are advised to reduce their intake of purine-rich foods.
They should also make lifestyle changes like eating healthy food, exercising, drinking enough water and limiting alcoholic or sugary drinks.
Good health can help patients control their uric acid content, while also improving overall wellbeing and managing their weight.
Urinary alkalinisers help to reduce the uric acid content in the body.
Nevertheless, gout patients are advised to consult a health specialist before taking any medicine or supplement to help reduce uric acid content.
Gout patients can use Ural, which helps to prevent the crystallisation of urate crystals in gout therapy as well as dissolve uric acid stones, according to Ural Malaysia PI, April 2022.
Ural is a sugar-free, pleasantly lemon-flavoured urinary alkaliniser that is made in Australia.
It is effective because the sodium bicarbonate in Ural increases the excretion of bicarbonate ions in the urine and raises the pH value of urine. A rise in urinary pH makes the urine more alkaline, and helps to promote the dissolution of uric acid crystals.
Get Ural at all leading Malaysian pharmacies.
This article is sponsored by Ural.
This is a medicine product advertisement.
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