Gout - Don't Play With It

If you have ever had a bout of gout you will know that it is a disease not to be messed with. Gout is when you have high amounts of uric acid in your blood stream which eventually form into needle like crystals that form around the joints and where there are bottle neck constraints in the circulation system. This disease is usually only exhibited in men and women (only after menopause), but mostly men after their thirties, and tends to be something we see in men that carry more weight around their stomach area. There are a number of remedies that are prescribed but you really need to see the doctor before you attempt to medicate yourself. Some of the most commonly used drugs are:


1. Colgout - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchicine - which is usually used to combat the effects of an attack of gout but it also used when moving onto a longer term treatment of allopurinol.


2.Zyloprim - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopurinol - From Wikipedia:


Allopurinol is a purine analog; it is a structural isomer of hypoxanthine (a naturally occurring purine in the body) and is an inhibitor of the enzyme xanthine oxidase.^[1] Xanthine oxidase is responsible for the successive oxidation of hypoxanthine andxanthine, resulting in the production of uric acid, the product of human purine metabolism.^[1] In addition to blocking uric acid production, inhibition of xanthine oxidase causes an increase in hypoxanthine and xanthine, which are converted to closely related purine ribotides adenosine and guanosine monophosphates. Increased levels of these ribotides causes feedback inhibition of amidophosphoribosyl transferase, the first and rate-limiting enzyme of purine biosynthesis. Allopurinol, therefore, decreases both uric acid formation and purine synthesis.


3. NSAID - Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs - such as Indocid. These are useful for short term treatment of accute attacks of gout to reduce inflammation and soreness around the problem area.


4. Increasing your daily intake of water.


Whatever you choose, don't be afraid to come and see us at Ford's, 247 King Street, Newtown.