Gout & Urinary Pain

Suffering from gout can be painful and a serious burden on your life, especially if it affects your kidneys and causes urinary pain. However, treatments are available to eliminate your gout, ease your pain and prevent it from recurring by making a series of lifestyle changes.

Definition

• Gout is a condition that causes swelling and stiffness in the joints, though it typically targets the big toe. It is a form of arthritis and tends to be repetitive unless lifestyle changes are made. Men are more likely to develop gout than women and repeated flare-ups can cause damage to your joints over time.

Causes

• Gout is caused by a buildup of too much uric acid in the blood. Eating foods that are high in purines, such as broths, herring, anchovies, mushrooms, organ meats and sweetbreads can significantly raise your body's levels of uric acid. When the kidneys can't get rid of all the uric acid, it begins to crystallize and attach itself to the joints, causing intense pain and stiffness. Rarely, gout is caused by a disorder of some sort that causes your body to produce large amounts of uric acid no matter what you eat. Examples of such disorders include leukemia and kidney disease.

Symptoms

• Gout can cause numerous symptoms in the body. For instance, it can cause severe pain in your joints, usually at the big toe. Sufferers find barely moving the joint intolerable. The area may also look red and swollen and feel warm to the touch. Other symptoms include fever, malaise and fatigue. If gout recurs often, the joints may be permanently damaged, leading to deformity and restricted movement.

Kidney Stones & Urinary Pain

• Kidney stones can also develop in gout sufferers. These stones can block the urinary tract, leading to serious pain. Also known as urolithiasis, kidney stones can actually cause infection and permanent kidney damage if not treated promptly. The accompanying pain of blocked urine flow can be excruciating and impairing. Unfortunately, if you have diabetes, high blood pressure or some other disorder that impairs kidney function, you are likely to suffer from gout over and over again as the uric acid will not be processed properly.

Treatment

• Treating gout and the potential urinary pain that goes along with it, requires several different approaches. In the middle of a new attack, NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are a good way to ease pain and swelling. Applying ice to the affected area and splinting the joint to immobilize it are also effective. Corticosteroids may also be used. to prevent future attacks of gout. You can lose weight, avoid foods high in purines and avoid alcohol and drugs that cause high uric-acid levels. To treat urinary pain, the kidney stones will need to be addressed and a drug such as Allopurinol, which lowers the amount of uric acid in the blood, will need to be taken.