Cebu City - Gout is a disease of the joints that is caused by too much uric acid in the body. Uric acid is a metabolic waste product that is removed when we urinate. When there is too much uric acid our bodies, most of them remain in our blood.  So, when the uric acid in our body becomes too concentrated, they no longer be dissolved and start to form needle-like crystals that attack our joints. The formation of these crystals leads to an inflammatory response which cause our white blood cells to attack the crystals resulting in joint pain and inflammation. This is now called acute gout attack.

When these acute gout attacks are left alone, the symptoms aggravate and the pain can get severe causing a person to be absent from work, cause anger issues, lead to depressive episodes, and reduce the overall quality of life. When the acute gout attack now becomes chronic gout, this could lead to kidney stones to kidney failure and joint erosion and deformities to lower leg amputations.

The risk of experiencing kidney failure and leg amputations increase at the presence of common comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Other studies have also concluded that amputation is associated with worse physical functioning, lower health-related quality of life, depression, and early death.

The best way to prevent gout is to manage it through a lifestyle change by exercising regularly and eating the right foods. Since uric acid is formed as purine is broken down, we must avoid foods rich in purine like red meat, organ meat, seafood, dairy products, alcohol, and sweetened beverages. Instead, let us replace them with low purine foods like lean meats, fish, legumes, vegetables, fruits, low fat or fat-free dairy products, and whole grains.

Be informed. Remember that awareness is the greatest agent for change. The better awareness, the better your choices. As you make better choices, you will see better results. // ND II Mary Carmeli C. Garrovillo, RND