Manage Your Gout

Talk to your healthcare professional; there may be better treatment options.

If you’re suffering from gout flares, now is the time to take action. Gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid in your blood. By taking steps to decrease your uric acid level and keeping it there, you can fight for fewer flares over the long term. And, the sooner you can talk to your healthcare professional about your flares, the sooner you may be able to get on track for fighting back.

Important Steps to Gout Management

Effectively managing gout isn’t just a matter of taking pain medicine during a gout attack. Your doctor should talk to you about positive lifestyle changes, like good nutrition, exercise, and weight loss, which may make a difference in your gout and your overall health. In addition, your doctor may consider including medicines to help address the high uric acid that is causing your gout.

• Making positive lifestyle changes

  The foods you eat aren’t the cause of gout... but diet is the one of many things that can trigger gout attacks if you already have a high uric acid level. And, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise is an important part of your overall health. So, it makes sense to talk with your doctor about how improving your diet and getting more exercise can help make a difference for you.

• Treating the pain and inflammation of the gout attack

  Your doctor may prescribe medications or recommend over-the-counter treatments to address the pain and inflammation of your gout attacks. It’s important to remember, though, that treating pain and inflammation doesn’t address the underlying cause of gout, high uric acid.

• Treating high uric acid, the cause of gout

  Blood uric acid levels are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). A uric acid level below 6 mg/dL is the recommended target level for the long-term management of gout. As your uric acid level rises, so does the potential for gout and gout flares. Decreasing your uric acid reduces your risk of future gout attacks. In addition to diet and healthy lifestyle changes, there are also medicines available to help reduce your uric acid to the recommended target level.

  

Discuss with your healthcare professional the most appropriate treatment to help manage your gout.

Work with your healthcare professional to fight back

In the fight for fewer flares, information is one of your healthcare professional’s best weapons. Keep track of the details of your gout attacks and bring the information to your next appointment. Try to remember as much as possible, including what you think may have triggered each attack. For example, they sometimes occur for no apparent reason, other times, something may seem to trigger the attack. Gout attacks may be triggered by alcohol, certain medicines, another illness, stressful events, or other factors.