Causes of Gout | Primary and Secondary Gout Causes

Gout

One of the variations of inflammatory arthritis is the ailment known as gout. However, not all cases of gout are directly related to inflammatory arthritis. In fact, the ailment could also be present in areas like the kidneys as kidney stones.

This condition causes certain joints in the body to become inflamed, a very painful condition characterized by swelling of the affected area which could also be hot to touch. This affected area will also feel tender to touch and could become red or reddish in color.

Gout Causes

Gout is mainly caused by crystallization of uric acid in the joints of the affected patient. Uric acid is the final metabolite of purines.

Gout is classified either as primary or secondary. When a case is primary gout, it means that the person developed the disease due to certain factors, most of which is through high uric acid levels. On the other hand, secondary gout is due to a complication or as a result of another condition that caused the development of the disease.

  • Primary Gout Causes
    • In primary gout, the reasons for having the disease could be either due to high consumption of foods with high purine contents, due to the body creating high levels of uric acid, or due to the inability of the body to excrete the uric acid fast enough.
    • While these are the possible causes that can cause one to develop gout, there are different factors that can trigger the painful attacks. These triggers include the intake of grain alcohol. Another factor is due to intake of foods that can spike up the level of uric acid in the body such as crabs and lobsters.
    • Secondary Gout Causes
      • This type of gout is due to complication from other factors.
      • The common causes are leukemia and due to metabolic syndrome or the difficulty of the body in properly digesting foods rich in purine.

Prevention of Gout

It is actually possible to prevent the occurrence of primary gout although it is much harder in secondary gout. The following are useful options for prevention and treatment of primary gout:

  • Since food is often the main culprit, it is best to ensure that the patient avoid those high in purine content. There, seafood and meat should be avoided as much as possible.
  • Eat foods rich in vitamin C. This vitamin is often found in fruits, especially citrus fruits.
  • Obesity is one of the risk factors for gout. So, it is a good idea to try to reduce weight to reach the normal levels.

For secondary gout, treatment of the underlying cause is important.

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