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Arthritis comes in many forms, including gout. If you’re living with gout, Rolando Cadena, DPM, and Clair Cadena Miranda offer lifestyle tips and treatments at their practice, Mesilla Valley Footcare, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Gout often causes severe pain in the body, especially in your big toe joints. However, you can get treatment and make lifestyle changes to deal with the symptoms of gout. Call the Mesilla Valley Footcare team today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cadena or Dr. Miranda or request a consultation on the website.
What is gout?
Gout is an inflammatory problem and a type of arthritis. It’s usually excruciatingly painful, mainly when it affects the big toe joint.
When you’re living with gout, it typically only affects one joint at a time, including the big toe, ankle, and foot. Gout strikes suddenly and leads to attacks of severe pain from too much uric acid in your body.
Uric acid results from your body breaking down purines, which many types of food contain. However, not everyone with too much uric acid will have attacks of gout.
Gout can have flares, where symptoms get worse, and periods of remission when you don’t have symptoms at all.
Various risk factors increase the chances of developing gout, including certain chronic medical conditions, obesity, and having a family history of the condition. Some high blood pressure drugs and diuretics also increase the risk of gout.
How do I know if I have gout?
Gout may mimic other types of arthritis, making it hard to diagnose. You may inquire about gout if you have flares of extreme pain in your big toe joint.
The only way to know you have gout is during a flare. Dr. Cadena and Dr. Miranda carefully evaluate your symptoms. They order imaging studies and blood work to look for uric acid crystals.
The best time to diagnose gout is when one of your joints is painful, red, and hot, signaling a flare. Only then can a lab test detect uric acid crystals within the affected joint.
Is gout treatable?
Unfortunately, gout has no long-term cure, but it’s manageable through lifestyle changes and other medical treatments. Dr. Cadena and Dr. Miranda recommend medications such as anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling in the joint and provide relief.
They may also suggest corticosteroids and uric acid-lowering medications to control flares and improve pain.
Lifestyle changes are also essential in managing gout symptoms. A healthy diet that’s low in alcohol and foods that contain purines is best. Organ meats, seafood, and red meat all contain high levels of purines.
Physical activity is also helpful for treating gout because it helps you manage your weight. Excess weight may increase your risk for gout symptoms.
To learn more about managing gout, call the Mesilla Valley Footcare team today or request a consultation on the website.