5 Ways to Manage Your Gout Symptoms

More than nine million Americans suffer from gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis that happens when uric acid crystals form inside your joints. These sharp crystals lead to multiple symptoms, including pain, swelling, redness, and tenderness, particularly when you move the joint or put pressure on it.

While gout can affect any joint, it’s most common in the big toe, ankle, and knee joints. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity are more likely to develop gout, and so are older people.

Joel S Segalman, FACFAS, FACFAO, and Stephen Lazaroff, DPM, FACFAS, help patients at Performance Foot & Ankle Specialists, LLC, manage gout symptoms by combining medical treatments and lifestyle changes. Here, learn about five simple changes you can make to help relieve your painful gout symptoms now and in the future.

1. Use ice

Gout causes painful swelling around the affected joint. An ice pack helps relieve painful swelling by reducing inflammation and temporarily “numbing” the area. Wrap the ice pack in a lightweight towel to protect your skin, and apply the pack for 15-20 minutes. No ice pack? Try a bag of frozen peas, corn, or mixed vegetables.

2. Follow a low-purine diet

Purines are substances in certain foods that turn into uric acid during digestion. Since uric acid buildup is the root cause of gout, it makes sense that limiting foods high in purines can help reduce uric acid buildup, too. 

High-purine foods include most red meats, liver and other organ meats, shellfish, some seafood, and alcohol — most notably beer and spirits. Low-purine foods include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and vegetable sources of protein.

3. Stay hydrated

Drinking plenty of water helps your body flush out excess uric acid through your urine, reducing the likelihood of uric acid buildup in your joints. On the flip side, even mild dehydration can increase the amount of uric acid in your bloodstream, increasing the risk of painful flare-ups.

Carry a water bottle with you and aim for eight glasses of water a day. Avoid sugary beverages and flavor water with lemon juice or other fresh fruit. (If you have kidney issues, ask your nephrologist about recommended fluid intake based on your health needs.)

4. Practice stress management

Stress can take a toll on both your physical health and your emotional wellness. Stress can make it harder to cope with painful gout symptoms, but that’s just one way it contributes to flare-ups. 

When you’re stressed, your body produces more uric acid to counteract the effects of stress. Elevated uric acid production increases your risk of having a gout flare-up.

Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing are great ways to reduce stress, and so are spending time doing activities that help you relax, like reading or listening to music. Choose a stress-management activity you enjoy, and make it part of your daily routine.

5. Take your medicine

Lifestyle changes can help manage gout symptoms when used in combination with medications, like oral or injectable anti-inflammatory medicines. Other medicines help lower your uric acid levels to help prevent future flare-ups. Taking medications as prescribed is critical in managing gout and protecting your joints from further damage. 

Relief that works for you

Gout won’t go away; without medical management, it likely worsens. If you have gout or any unusual joint symptoms, request an appointment online or over the phone today with the Performance Foot & Ankle Specialists team in Waterbury and Newtown, Connecticut.