Stop Gout Pain

How to Relieve Gout Pain

Gout is a severe form of arthritis that can come on suddenly and be very painful. Finding safe and effective types of gout pain relief can help you feel better faster. There are home remedies that can relieve gout pain and inflammation to speed up healing from gout attacks.

Overview of Gout

Gout is caused by the buildup of uric acid in the blood. The uric acid forms crystals that are deposited in the soft tissues and joints. Most people can break down uric acid and flush it out of the kidneys. People at risk for gout cannot get rid of the uric acid as easily. Risk factors for gout include: family history, being overweight, a diet high in purine foods (red meat, organ meat, sardines, and beer), having certain diseases, and taking certain medications. Men tend to get gout in their middle age years more often than women, but women can get gout after menopause due to hormonal changes.

Symptoms of gout are caused by the uric acid forming very sharp crystals that get lodged inside the joints and soft tissues. These crystals cause severe pain, inflammation, redness, and swelling in one or more joints. Your body tries to fight this off and sends out white blood cells to the area causing even more swelling and inflammation. This can also severely limit your mobility during an acute gout flare.

Gout Pain Relief

The symptoms are so intense, people often seek out various methods of gout pain relief at home while waiting to see their doctor. Here are a few home remedies that can help with gout pain:

Flaxseed/Charcoal Poultice – Try mixing 3 Tbsp. finely ground Flaxseed with ½ cup activated charcoal with warm water to make a paste. Apply it to the affected area(s) and cover with a piece of plastic or soft cloth. You can use this every four hours, or put it on before bed and change in the morning. Use caution with charcoal as it can stain so make sure you keep it covered well.

Activated Charcoal – You can take ½ Tsp. activated charcoal four times daily to help lower your uric acid levels. Make sure you drink plenty of water if you use this method. Activated charcoal can be found in many drug and health food stores.

Castor Oil – Try dipping a soft cloth into warm castor oil. Place the cloth over the affected joint, cover with plastic and apply heat. You can use a heating pad on low or a hot water bottle. You can do this twice a day for one hour.

Hot/Cold Packs – Alternate the use of a heating pad for 15 minutes then an ice pack for 15 minutes. You can do this 3 times a day to help improve blood flow to the area and relieve inflammation.

Epsom Salt Soaks – For feet, ankles, and toes you can take a bowl of hot water and sprinkle in 3 Tbsp. Epsom salts. Soak in this solution for 30 minutes. You can also run a bathtub full of water. This method requires about 1 to 3 cups of Epsom salts and can help to relieve gout pain over a larger area of the body when it affects more than one joint.

Natural gout pain relief is a safe and effective way to bring your gout pain under control naturally. It is important to see your physician if you suffer from gout or have symptoms of gout. Always check with your doctor before using home remedies.

Home Recipes For Gout Relief

Gout Home Recipes

One of the main treatments for gout is making a few healthy dietary changes. Changing the way that you eat can be tough, but with home recipes for gout relief you can fit in the foods that you need to control gout. Adding in fresh fruits and vegetables nature’s own anti-inflammatories, while lowering your intake of foods that raise uric acid can help reduce your symptoms quickly.

The symptoms of gout are caused by excess uric acid in the blood. This is a by-product of purines in the diet. Normally, you flush uric acid out through your kidneys. In gout, excess uric acid turns into sharp, painful crystals that lodge into the joints. This causes symptoms like; swelling, severe pain, redness and heat in one or more joints. Gout can come on suddenly and be very disabling during an acute flare.

When you are diagnosed with gout, one of the first things your doctor will explain is that you will need to lower your intake of purine foods. These include; red meat, sardines, beer, and organ meats. Also increase your daily intake of water from 8 to 12 glasses of water each day. This can help flush out uric acid from your body. Below are some home recipes for gout relief:

Home Recipes For Gout Relief

4 Carrots, 1 ounce Strawberries (fresh), 1 slice Pineapple, 1 Lime, 1 Mango, 1 small Cucumber. Cut up and place in juicer or smoothie maker and drink twice daily. This can help lower inflammation and swelling and prevent future gout attacks.
1 ounce Cranberries, 1 Qt Cold Water. Boil together for 3 minutes. Pour through a strainer. Drink 3 glasses a day to help flush uric acid from your body.
Tomato Juice. Drink 3 glasses a day to help flush out uric acid.
Baking Soda and water. Mix just enough water into baking soda to make a paste. Rub onto affected joints. Baking soda is a natural anti-inflammatory.
3 drops Rosemary Oil, 1 tbsp. Soy Oil. Mix together and rub onto affected areas to help relieve pain naturally.
1 tbsp. Vinegar, 1 tbsp. Wheat Bran, 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed). Mix together into a poultice and apply to swollen joint(s).
Oil of Elder. Use full strength on a cotton ball or pad and lay on affected area.
Bananas, Parsley, Cherries, Watermelon and Citrus Fruits. Include generous amounts of these in your diet each week. They can help the body get rid of the excess uric acid in the blood. Vitamin C rich foods can break down uric acid. Bananas have potassium, folic acid, and vitamin C to help reduce gout symptoms. Parsley is a low purine garnish that has vitamin C and folic acid. Watermelon is a great anti-oxidant and cleans the blood.

Helpful Tips for Gout

In addition to the home recipes for gout relief above, use the following tips to help reduce your discomfort:

Try to stay off your feet during an acute gout flare. Pressure to the affected joints increases inflammation and pain. Elevate painful swollen joints on pillows.
Use a wrap. Compression and immobilization can help keep your painful joints stable.
Avoid ice or heat. Heat increases blood flow to the area and can make swelling worse. Ice can cause more irritation to the affected area.
Wear properly fitting shoes. If you have an inflamed toe or ankles, shoes that are too tight will increase irritation and discomfort. You can add special insole pads to help cushion and decrease friction.

Gout Diet

The Proper Gout Diet

Gout is caused by inflammation of the joints due to high uric acid levels in the body. It causes severe joint pain and possibly severe disability during the initial flare up. When a gout attack occurs, the body produces too much uric acid, and this leads to uric acid crystal formation in the joints and soft tissue. Attacks can be very painful and reduce your activity levels dramatically.

Using a gout diet can help reduce uric acid levels in the body and reduce pain. It can also help keep your weight under control during periods of inactivity. Here are some helpful tips for dealing with a gout attack:

Joint Rest – During a gout attack, rest the affected joints as much as possible, until the pain begins to get better, and at least for a full 24 hours after the pain subsides.
Elevate – Keep the affected joints elevated above the heart as much as possible during the attack.
NSAIDS – Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications can help relieve the initial pain and inflammation. Avoid aspirin as that can make the symptoms worse.
Increase Fluids – Drink plenty of fluids to help reduce and flush out uric acid in the body.

Gout Diet

To help reduce uric acid levels and relieve symptoms, try to remove offending things from your diet that can raise uric acid levels. Even after the initial attack subsides, you may still need to limit these foods to prevent it from coming back. Here is a list of diet tips for gout:

Eat smaller amounts of fish, meat and poultry. Proteins that come from animals contain high levels of purines. Organ meats are the highest, but all meats have purines. Try to only eat 4 to 6 ounces of meat a day.
Eat a low-fat diet. When you eat too many saturated fats, your body cannot flush uric acid from your body. Shoot for plant proteins like beans and fat-free dairy.

Skip beer. Beer has a reputation for helping your body hold on to uric acid. A 5 ounce glass of wine daily is okay, but try to avoid any alcohol during a flare-up.

Stay away from high fructose corn syrup. Stick to products that are 100% fruit juice and stay away from fructose. Fructose can actually cause uric acid levels to increase.

Eat more whole grains. Refined carbohydrates can interfere with uric acid reduction in the body. Whole grains can help your body eliminate it. Try whole wheat bread and whole grain pasta or plain white.

More tips:

A good healthy gout diet goes along with healthy lifestyle changes. Try these other helpful tips to complement your diet and heal faster:

Keep your weight under control – Being overweight increases the risk for gout and the pain that goes along with it. Try to eat a healthy sensible diet and lose weight over a period of time.
Discuss medications with your doctor – Make sure you clear any medications or remedies you use for gout with your physician.
Get plenty of exercise – As long as you are not in a gout flare, get regular exercise to keep joints healthy and keep weight off. After a gout flare, look into a good regular walking or stretching program that is gentle on the joints.

The good news is gout isn’t life threatening. However, gout can reduce your activity levels and increase weight gain. Eating a healthy gout diet can reduce the overproduction of uric acid in the body and help flush out the excess.

Getting prompt treatment for gout along with a healthy diet and lifestyle changes, can help you heal faster and lower the incidence of flare-ups in the future!

Gout E-medicine

Gout and Emedicine

Emedicine sites are a great source of information for medical questions. Gout sufferers often have trouble finding good information on gout that can be trusted. Family and friends may be hesitant to talk about gout, or no very little about it. You may want to talk to your doctor, but they often seem rushed. Gout emedicine is one way you can learn all you need to know about gout. There are many websites that outline what gout is, the symptoms, treatments and prevention.

When you find a gout emedicine site where the information is highly researched and supported by doctors, scientists, and pharmacy experts, then you know that you have found a good source of information. When you see reviews about gout studies and new treatments, that is an even better sign! Best of all, most of these sites are free of charge and there is no obligation to read and learn what you need to know. This helps you find current information that can help you find the best treatment for your gout attacks.

Educating yourself with gout emedicine prior to consulting with a doctor will help you know which questions to ask your doctor once you arrive at the office. You will also understand the available gout treatments, the side-effects, and what they do.

This way, when your doctor explains your options, you will be better able to decide on which one works best for you. Gout emedicine sites also help you learn about all the safe, effective and all-natural treatments, there are available.

Emedicine sites are also backed by research, doctors, pharmacy professionals, and consumers who have had positive experiences with them. They can also give you diet and lifestyle tips to help you increase your healing. Many have Q and A sections where you can ask common questions about gout treatments actually answered by doctors and pharmacy experts.

Some have boards where you can meet other gout sufferers. They can help you understand which gout treatments worked for them and which ones did not work so well. While everyone is not the same, it does help to get some input from others.

Keep in mind that not all gout emedicine sites are reputable. They may only have their own best interest in mind. Some message boards may only be hosted by fellow gout sufferers with little medical education. They may mean well, but information may not always be accurate. Make sure you look for a doctor’s endorsement for the best websites.

If you think you have symptoms of gout, always consult your doctor for diagnosis and to discuss treatment. Using gout emedicine can help you understand the disease and maybe encourage you to get help. This way you can recover faster and enjoy your life again!

How To Treat Gout

Treating Gout

Gout is a form of arthritis that usually appears first in the feet. This condition affects over 8 million people in the United States and can be severely debilitating if left untreated. It can also cause permanent damage to joints and the kidneys. Many gout sufferers do not know how to treat gout and it is important to obtain treatment for gout early on to help prevent disability.

Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. Uric acid is formed as a by-product of purines in the diet. When this waste builds up, the kidneys normally flush it out. When levels of uric acid are too high, it can form crystals in the soft tissues and joints. This causes the painful attacks associated with gout.

The first attack usually affects the great toe and then can spread to the knees, ankles and elbows. Factors for acquiring gout include; genetics, uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain health conditions, and being overweight. Also, consuming high purine foods can increase uric acid levels in the body.

How To Treat Gout

Gout attacks must be treated as early as possible to prevent permanent damage. Your physician can prescribe certain medications to help control the inflammation and reduce uric acid levels. Regardless of the treatment options, it is important to see your physician for diagnosis. Here are some tips to help with gout treatment:

Avoid alcohol. Especially beer, which can raise uric acid levels. A 5 ounce glass of wine daily may be okay, but try to avoid alcohol during an acute attack.
Control your weight. Being overweight contributes to gout and can increase pain levels due to excess weight on the affected joints.
Drink water. If you don’t already, try to get in at least 8 glasses of water daily and as many as 10 to 12 glasses if possible. This will help rid your body of uric acid.
Get tested. Your doctor can aspirate some fluid from an affected joint and check for gout. They can also draw uric acid levels from the blood. This will help you and your doctor find the right treatment.
Rest and Elevate. Rest the affected areas and elevate it above the heart. Try not to walk around too much during the acute flare and use ice wrapped in a towel. Wear loose clothing and properly fitting shoes. Too much pressure can increase your gout pain.
Avoid purine foods. Foods high in purines can elevate uric acid levels. Avoid red meats, organ meats, alcohol, and seafood until the attack subsides.
Eat gout relieving foods. There are certain foods that can help relieve gout including, cherries, citrus, and certain berries. Cherries have a known effect on relieving inflammation from arthritis.
Use anti-inflammatory medications, but not aspirin. Naproxen and ibuprofen are helpful with pain and inflammation but aspirin can increase uric acid and make the attack worse. Always check with your doctor before using any medications.

Foods To Prevent Gout

Types of Foods that Prevent Gout

Of the many home remedies for gout, one of the easiest is changing your diet. Since gout is a type of arthritis caused by excess uric acid levels in the blood, eating foods lower in purines can help lower uric acid levels naturally. There are also many good foods to prevent gout that may be right in your very own kitchen already!

Cherries

Cherries have long been one of the best natural home remedies for gout. They contain a natural anti-inflammatory, anthocyanin’s that help reduce inflammation levels and pain. Eat at least ½ pound of cherries daily or try drinking cherry juice. They can help any type of arthritis including gout and help you get back on your feet faster.

Vegetables

Eating fresh raw vegetables and drinking vegetable juices can help relieve gout symptoms. Try making a juice out of beetroot, carrots, and cucumbers to increase healing from gout flares. Use 100 ml of beetroot juice, 300 ml carrot juice, and 100 ml cucumber juice every day. Use a variety of colors on your plate when choosing vegetables to get the most anti-oxidants.

French Bean Juice

French bean juice has been found to have gout relief in many people. You can drink a glass every day to help reduce gout pain.

Apples

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” holds true with this one. Apples have the chemical malic acid that neutralizes uric acid and can reduce the pain and inflammation of gout flares. Better yet, finish off each meal with an apple to help relieve your pain.

Bananas

Many people who suffer from gout have tried the “banana diet.” This consists of eating only bananas for about 3 to 4 days. You can then eat a banana a day as a type of gout prevention. Bananas are also high in potassium and other vitamins to strengthen your body while healing from gout.

Lime, Orange, and Lemon

Eating fruits rich in vitamin C can help break down uric acid for the body in order to excrete it through the kidneys. Vitamin C can also help rebuild collagen in the joints. Oranges can be eaten or you can drink orange juice. For lemon and lime juices squeeze them into a glass of water to make them more tolerable and drink them twice daily.

Activated Charcoal

Make a paste with activated charcoal and place on the affected joints. Use about ½ cup activated charcoal with just enough water to make a paste. You can also place some in water and use as a foot soak.

Herbal Remedies

There are herbs that can help reduce inflammation in the body. These include devil’s claw, ginger root, and white willow bark. These can help relieve pain and inflammation, but you should consult with your physician and an herbal practitioner before using them.

Ginger

As listed above, ginger has remarkable anti-inflammatory properties and is one of the better home remedies for gout. Use it as a soak by putting 1/3 cup ground ginger in warm water and then soak your feet for 30 minutes. It can even pull uric acid out via the sweat glands. Make sure you wash off any ginger residue to prevent skin irritation.

Safflower

Safflower oil can help improve your blood flow, clean out your blood, and relieve gout pain. Use safflower oil capsules a little stronger than safflower cooking products. Check your natural or health foods section in the drug store.

Any of these gout home remedies are safe and effective to help relieve gout pain and inflammation naturally. Always check with your physician before choosing the best one for you.

Healthy Gout Diet With Cherry Juice

How Cherry Juice & Diet Control Gout

Eating a healthy diet with cherry juice can help gout sufferers relieve the inflammation that can sometimes be debilitating. Gout is a very painful form of arthritis that comes on suddenly and causes severe pain and swelling to a single joint or sometimes more than one joint. If gout is not treated quickly after onset, flares will continue to come and go over months or even years after the first attack. Each gout attack after the first tends to last longer and can cause significant disability.

Whatever gout cure you choose, a healthy gout diet with cherry juice can help your body recover faster and easier. The use of complimentary herbal remedies are usually very safe together with prescription medications, and these help the body to flush out excess uric acid – the main culprit in this disease.

Healthy Gout Diet

First, you will need to focus on some dietary changes. The reason is, gout is caused by elevated uric acid levels in the blood. Uric acid is a waste product from purines that come from our diet. Diet is the single most important factor for controlling gout, and you need to eat less foods that are high in purines. These include; red meat, herring, sardines, organ meats, and scallops. It wouldn’t even hurt to not eat these foods at all during an acute gout attack. Healthy alternatives include; lean turkey, chicken, and salmon.

Second, you must increase the amount of water that you drink each day. Normally, you would shoot for about 8 glasses of water each day. When you are suffering from gout, it is best to increase that amount to 10 to 12 glasses of water daily. This helps flush out excess uric acid from the body and can relieve pain and slow the flare-ups.

Put Together a Healthy Eating Plan

Eating healthy in general can prevent many diseases. It is especially important to eat healthy when you are suffering from gout because the more purine foods that you eat the worse the attack will feel. Changing your diet as soon as symptoms appear, gets you through much more easily. If you try to eat the same way you have been prior to the attack, your pain will become more intense.

Your doctor will most likely prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and gout medications. However, in order for these to work properly you need to stop eating the foods that elevate uric acid levels and remind yourself to drink water. Coming up with a healthy eating plan can help you manage these changes. You can also add in age old home remedies to increase your healing. Make up a menu plan with the necessary water you need to drink and hang a copy on your fridge and keep a copy with you. Stick to it!

You must lose weight if you are overweight and try not to gain weight during the attack. This can be hard for some when gout restricts movement. Don’t diet too much because your body needs calories to recover. Eat sensibly and the weight will come off naturally. After you begin to lose weight, the pain will start to become less intense.

An Age Old Remedy: Cherry Juice

Cherry juice is a safe all-natural and extremely effective gout cure that is very cheap and easy to obtain. Researchers have found that people who eat large amounts of cherries have less inflammation in their bodies. Cherry juice can even help to flush out uric acid and prevent it from forming uric acid crystals in the joint areas.

The type of cherries that you use are up to your individual preference. If you eat cherries, it is recommended you eat at least ½ a pound a day. You can also use a cherry concentrate at about 1 Tbsp. daily. Cherry juice is available in most health food stores and you can drink as much as you can tolerate. Cherries are also low on the glycemic index or low in sugar. Diabetics should still check with their doctor or nutritionist for safe amounts.

Ways To Cure Gout – Cherry Juice & Diet

Types of Gout Cures

Gout is a type of arthritis characterized by severe inflammation in one or more joints that can cause extreme pain. Cherry juice & diet are two ways to help control the inflammation and relieve pain. Since gout is largely caused by excess uric acid in the blood, a proper diet can help lower uric acid levels and keep you from producing more.

If your gout goes untreated, you may have more attacks in the future. Each attack after the first lasts longer, and can be harder to bring under control. Getting proper treatment for gout can help prevent or lessen the severity of future attacks. There are many different gout cures available that can help to relieve your discomfort. Herbal remedies and dietary changes are easy to do and many are right in your kitchen already.

Cherries

Cherries are a very effective natural remedy for gout that can either be eaten or you can drink the juice. Eating cherries has long been a natural anti-inflammatory remedy for many types of arthritis, and they have also been found effective in gout. Cherry juice can also help lower levels of uric acid in the blood, preventing it from forming crystals that deposit in the joints. This is one of the main sources of gout pain.

You can use fresh cherries or buy canned. Try to eat at least one-half pound every day. When using a cherry concentrate you can take one tablespoon daily.

What Foods are Good to Eat with Gout?

Eating the right foods with gout is extremely important. If you do not make needed changes to your diet, your uric acid levels may continue to go up. This means continual pain and inflammation. Avoid or seriously limit any foods high in purines. This includes; red meat, organ meat, sardines, herring, scallops, and beer. These all raise your uric acid levels and increase your inflammation, which leads to more pain.

If you have gout, you also must increase your water intake. You need to be drinking at least 12 glasses of water each day. This helps dilute the uric acid and flushes it out through the kidneys.

Use a Diet Plan for Gout

You can shorten the length and severity of gout attacks, by using dietary changes. You may even be able to stop them from coming back or even happening in the first place. If you start to have gout symptoms or the doctor tells you your uric acid levels are high, you can start right away by eating differently.

Plan your meals. Try to plan them without the above listed foods that are high in purines. Find alternatives for proteins like; lean chicken, turkey, beans, and dairy.
Include fresh fruits and vegetables. When working on your meal plan, include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat plenty of vitamin C rich foods to help break down the uric acid in your system.
Eat to maintain your weight. Try to plan meals not too rich in calories. Keeping your weight stable protects your joints from damage.

Cherry juice & diet can help you recover from gout quickly and reduce the severity and frequency of attacks. Using a good meal plan can help you eat right and get back on the right track so that you can heal.

Gout Prevention Tips

How to Prevent Gout

Gout can come on suddenly after hiding in your body for years without you even knowing it. The uric acid that causes gout can build up in your blood stream without any symptoms and then one night you wake up in pain. There are some good gout prevention tips that can help you prevent the attacks from coming on or ease them if they do happen.

Eat a healthy diet – If you are at risk for gout or suffer from gout, you need to eat a healthy diet and eat the proper foods that can decrease your risk. It is also important to eliminate those foods that can increase uric acid levels such as; red meat, sardines, gravies, and organ meats.
Increase your water intake – Drinking more water is not only good for your health, but it can help your body flush out the excess uric acid from your system. It will also help to protect your kidneys from the high levels of uric acid, which could be damaging.
Quit or cut back on alcohol – Some types of alcohol like; beer can increase uric acid levels. If you need to have a drink, try to limit yourself to 5 ounces of wine on occasion.
Get your exercise – Gout may be painful so try to exercise as much as you can tolerate. Even some slow gentle stretches or walking can help keep your joints from getting too stiff. Regular exercise can even decrease your gout risk.
Increase fruits and vegetables in your diet – Adding ½ pound of fresh cherries each day can help decrease inflammation in your body naturally. Vitamin C can naturally break down uric acid in the bloodstream and strengthen your immune system. Eating more vegetables than meat can reduce the purines you get with meals and help keep your weight stable.
Lose extra pounds – Being overweight not only increases your risk of getting gout, it puts added strain on your joints if you do get gout. Extra pounds also put you at risk for other health issues like; diabetes and heart disease.

The helpful gout prevention tips above can lower your risk of ever getting gout in the first place, or if you do suffer from a gout attack they can help reduce your discomfort. There is never any guarantee that you won’t ever get gout, but education and prevention practices will help you understand it and feel better!

Gout Prescriptions

Medicating Gout

Since there is no actual “cure” for gout, if you are a sufferer, there are things you can do to help control the pain and relieve flares quickly. With the proper gout medication, you may even possibly prevent future attacks from even happening again.

Gout Medication

The onset of gout pain can be severe and most often doctors will prescribe anti-inflammatory medications to relieve inflammation. Commonly used are “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications” or NSAIDS. These can help quickly and return normal use of the joints in just a few days. These need to be started as soon as possible after the attack begins.

For some, the attack is too severe for NSAIDS to work and the doctor needs to use Corticosteroid medications such as; prednisone. Injectable forms can be put directly into the joint. Doctors will often save corticosteroids for a last resort since they can have severe side-effects and health risks to the body.

Another option is colchicine. This is a very common gout medication that can be given either orally or through an IV for severe attacks. Diarrhea is a side-effect and some people cannot tolerate colchicine for long periods of time unless your doctor puts you on a very low dose. Doctors sometimes prescribe high doses in the beginning and then stop using the medication after the attack subsides. This medication works best when given within the first 12 hours of the onset of a gout attack.

Prevention for gout attacks coming back is usually a regimen of NSAIDS or colchicine, dietary changes, and lifestyle modifications. If this doesn’t keep gout attacks away, the gout medications Probenecid or allopurinol (Zyloprim) will be used to reduce the uric acid in the blood.

Here Are Some Newer Generation Gout Medications:

Febuxostate (Uloric) – This drug can reduce the amount of uric acid in the blood, but only to prevent future attacks. It will not treat a gout attack that is in progress.
Losartan (Cozaar) or Hyzaar – Losartan is actually a blood pressure medication that can lower uric acid levels. It is not commonly used unless other treatments fail because it can lower the blood pressure. It also was not found to reduce uric acid level dramatically like other treatments.
Fenofibrate (Tricor) – This cholesterol medication can help lower uric acid in the blood. It cannot be used in conjunction with colchicine therapy due to drug interactions and can have side-effects.
Pegloticase (Krystexxa) – This new gout medication was approved by the FDA in 2010 and is actually the first approved medication for treatment of chronic and reoccurring gout. This medication is given by IV infusions and puts an enzyme into your body to change the way it deals with uric acid, allowing you to flush it out of your body and regulate uric acid levels better. The side-effects have only included; allergic reactions and infusion reactions so far. There may be more reported side-effects after the company collects post-marketing data. What this means is the medication needs to be on the market for longer in order for patients using this new gout medication to report any side-effects they experience.

Gout Medication Alternatives

Natural gout treatments can help prevent uric acid from building up in the body and help the body flush out excess uric acid on its own. Keeping your liver and kidneys healthy can help your body remove anything toxic from your blood, like uric acid. Try some of these gout medication alternatives to help relieve gout pain:

Water – Whether you are on gout medication or not, increase your water intake. This helps remove uric acid from the blood. You need to drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water each day. If you allow yourself to get dehydrated, your kidneys will not work well and uric acid levels may rise. Use natural spring water for healthy minerals to balance the body’s pH.
Less Meat – If you suffer from gout, you must reduce your intake of meat high in purines. Purines turn into uric acid and can raise your risk for gout flares. If you can eat a vegetarian diet that is best during gout attacks, but if that is not possible reduce your intake of red meat, organ meats, sardines, gravies, and legumes.
Fruits – Cherries are a natural anti-inflammatory and can reduce swelling and pain with gout. Also, increase your intake of any berries and vitamin C rich fruits to help break down uric acid in the body. Black cherry juice is highly effective in relieving gout attacks and pain.
Less or no Alcohol – Alcohol, especially beer can increase uric acid levels. Try to avoid beer completely, but you may possibly be able to tolerate a 5 ounce serving of wine once in a while.
Lose weight – Losing weight can decrease your risk of gout and help you feel better faster if you have a flare.

Extra weight makes it hard for your body to control uric acid levels and can put extra weight on stiff and sore joints. Lose weight slowly because if you lose weight too fast, your uric acid levels may actually increase instead of going down.

If you think you have gout, see your doctor as early as possible for diagnosis. You can discuss gout medications with your doctor and ask about any alternative treatments for your condition. Sometimes a combination of all options can help you feel better and get back on your feet faster.