How to Treat an Attack of Gout

Gout is a painful disorder that occurs when the metabolism of uric acid results in salt and acid depositing itself in the blood and joints of your body. When a gout attack occurs it can completely debilitate you. However, there are ways to help treat a gout attack to make it a little easier to endure.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Anti-inflammatory
• Pain reliever
• Ice pack

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Instructions

• 1

  Increase your fluids. Gout can often be aggravated by dehydration. Increasing your fluid intake, especially water, will help flush the salts and acids out of your body that are causing the attack to occur.

• 2

  Stay away from alcohol. Alcohol can also help aggravate a gout attack by increasing the amount of uric acid being metabolized. This prolongs the salt and acid build up at the site of the gout affected area. Alcohol also naturally dehydrates your body, which works against the needed fluids to flush the salts and acids out of your body.

• 3

  Reduce the inflammation. Most gout sufferers will be prescribed an anti-inflammatory such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) or corticosteroids. These drugs target the area of inflammation to bring the swelling down. Once the swelling begins to subside, the body has easier access to the affected area to flush out the uric acid byproducts.

• 4

  Manage the pain. Gout can often be extremely painful. To take care of this you can take a pain reliever such as Tylenol or other acetaminophen containing products to help manage the pain.

• 5

  Rest the affected area. Elevating the affected area and remaining in a resting position can lower the amount of time it takes to recover from your gout attack. Putting excess wait on the affected area can aggravate the swelling and can also increase the pain.

• 6

  Ice the affected area. Periodically place an ice pack on the swollen area. This will help relieve the pain, as well as help relieve the swelling of a gout attack.