Gout Sufferers Health Problems

Gout Sufferers usually experience pain in the joints. Usually the big toe is the first joint affected.

But gout pain also turns up in other joints such as ankles and knees, and fingers, wrists, elbows, and hands.

But for many gout sufferers there are possibly further health concerns which need to be considered

Some of these might be weight issues, cardiac health, and may possibly even include mental health.

There are a couple of reasons that gout sufferers might also need to look at their overall health.

Firstly, body weight is highly correlated with gout

It has long been known that people with a high body weight are more likely to have high urate levels.

It has even been stated by some authorities that weight is the single biggest predictor of uric acid levels in the body.

Put simply this means that the more extra weight you are carrying, the higher your uric acid levels will be ...

... and the higher your chance of suffering from gout attacks

Certain foods, particularly those which are high in purines, are often blamed for gout

But in reality, the chances are that a gout sufferer who is eating a lot of these high purine foods is also likely to be eating other less-than-healthy foods as well.

High purine foods may be playing a part in the gout formation, but these other issues like being overweight are playing their part too.

Having gout reduces the ability to lead a healthy lifestyle

While gout attacks usually start out intermittently, affecting only one or two joints and subsiding quickly, this is not the only way gout presents.

For chronic gout sufferers, it can become as much a part of your daily life as breathing itself.

Once a gout sufferer progresses from occasional gout to recurrent gout or chronic gout, the problems caused by stiffness and pain in the joints will intensify.

This pain, unlike early gout, does not just come and go, but rather it persists for extended periods of time.

If gout sufferers are getting pain in the lower limb joints (toes, ankles, knees and the hips) then their ability to move around is restricted.

Gout pain is so significant that something as simple as walking, or playing with your children, becomes a major effort.

So although someone with gout will no doubt be wanting to improve their overall health, it might not be easy given that their ability to exercise is severely diminished.

Some gout sufferers find themselves in an endless spiral, where their gout pain is restricting their ability to exercise for health benefits.

So the gout, and their overall health, either doesn't improve or actually gets worse.

Exercise is known for its ability to make people even more energised and vibrant.

A lack of exercise has the opposite effect and can lead to an ever-decreasing spiral of lethargy.

If this goes on long enough some sufferers may find themselves becoming depressed about their condition and perhaps giving up hope of ever recovering.

To get rid of gout, the gout sufferer needs to break this cycle by looking after their own health, rather than just dealing with the external gout pain symptoms.

Someone in the early stages of gout, when the pain is intermittent, is in the best position to take charge of their overall health and stop the gout from getting worse

Once the gout becomes a chronic problem it becomes a lot harder to find the motivation and energy to really deal with it.

Gout sufferers need to understand that the gout pain itself is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the sufferer’s overall health.