Causes of gout
In general, Gout is a very painful disease, which is a type of arthritis that is caused by the build up of excess uric acid in the body and especially in the joints. It can affect especially your toes, along with your knees, hands, elbows and ankles. Once you get gout, your joint will be inflamed and it will become hot and red. There will also be great amount of swelling in the region.
There is no definite cause of gout. As stated above, it is caused by uric acid, which crystallizes and deposits itself in the joints. These uric acid crystals will inflame the surrounding tissue and as a result, the swelling and pain will occur in the region. One interesting fact about gout is the fact that it will be seen more in man than women. In addition, the chance of another family member developing gout is high, if another family member has already experienced gout. (There is no proof of hereditary disposition). In general, the high concentration of uric acid in your blood can be the major cause of gout, although not everyone who may have a high concentration of uric acid will undergo gout.
However, there are some foods that seem to trigger gout attacks, especially foods like animal organs (liver, kidneys, heart etc) and some types of sea food (like shell fish etc.) Doctors also state that special medical conditions like heart attack along with stroke or some types of surgery may also cause gout attacks.
In addition, to all the causes stated above; any type of medication that will increase your uric acid levels, most certainly can cause gout. Especially high blood pressure medication has been found to increase uric acid levels in some people. Of course, consuming diuretic beverages such as alcohol, tea or coffee must be mentioned. Excessive use of these beverages can cause elevated levels of uric acid in your body which may lead to gout in the process. Generally doctors recommend that people, who have suffered gout before, should not drink more than 1 glass of wine or more than 2 cups of coffee per day.
Again it must be stressed that the condition of the high concentration of uric acid (hyperuricemia) can cause gout, although the relation is not proven. Anyone who has elevated levels of uric acid will not automatically contract gout, although anyone who has gout will have an imbalanced level of uric acid in their body. (Sometimes too low concentration of uric acid also can cause gout). It must be stated that men have more chances (approximately 9 to 1) of getting gout, compared to women. Also another study has showed that people living in developed areas will have a higher chance of getting gout, compared to people living in less developed areas. |
