Things To Consider if you have Chronic Gout

Around one in forty people in the UK are affected by gout, which equates to more than 1.5 million people. It is one of those conditions that affects all of us, either directly or through a loved one or close friend.

It is also something that everyone has heard of, but most of us would struggle to define. Gout is a form of arthritis that typically strikes the joints of the hands, feet, ankles, wrists or knees. It is particularly common in the big toe, and manifests in the form of sharp flares of pain, often accompanied by heat, inflammation or reddening.

Causes of gout

Gout is caused by an accumulation of urate crystals formed in and around the joints. Urate is something we all have in our blood, but if levels rise too high, it causes tiny sharp crystals to form. With gout, these crystals cause pain, redness and swelling of the joint. Gout is more common in men aged 40 and above. In women, it is more likely to occur later in life, but it can strike both sexes and all ages.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about gout, and it has historically been labelled a "disease of kings" due to its prevalence among wealthy people who indulged in rich diets. While your diet and lifestyle can increase the risk of gout, genetics and other health factors are far more significant contributory factors.

Mobility challenges for people living with gout

Like other forms of arthritis, there is no cure for gout, but there are treatments that can both reduce the risk of flare ups and reduce their severity. There are also living aids that can make life easier during a flare up and protect your joints. Here are a few examples of living and mobility aids that can help people with chronic gout:

• Walking aids – walking can become painful during flare-ups. A walking stick provides extra support and is helpful in milder cases. People with more severe symptoms often use crutches during flare-ups as these take more weight from the affected joint, easing the pain and reducing the risk of a fall. A walking aid with a seat, such as the CareCo Avello pictured above, can be a life-saver when out and about.

• Wheelchairs – gout flare-ups can last for a week or more, and can be genuinely debilitating. A manual wheelchair will reduce the impact on your day to day life, allowing you to still get out and about, even when the symptoms are at their worst. For optimum comfort and self-reliance, consider a powerchair – this is a particularly good option if gout also affects your hands or wrists, as there is no need to manually propel the chair.

• An adjustable bed – the majority of gout flare-ups strike at night, so finding ways to improve sleep quality is very important. An adjustable bed provides pain relief by redistributing your weight to ease pressure points and can improve blood circulation. Some also have massage functionality to further alleviate pain and relax the muscles.

• Bathroom aids – the combination of slippery, wet surfaces and obstacles like the bath, basin and toilet combine to make the bathroom the most high-risk location in the house for a slip or fall. This risk increases exponentially during a flare-up. A few aids here can prevent disaster and help you stay safe and dignified in the bathroom. Aids such as grab bars, shower seats, raised toilet seats, and transfer benches are all designed to make transfers safer and more comfortable by reducing strain on joints.

• Kitchen aids – when a flare-up affects the wrists or hands, kitchen aids make life so much easier. For example, the kitchen genie is a 5 in 1 multi opener that will help with bottles, jars, ring-pulls and twist-off caps. Also consider a kettle tipper to help you handle boiling water more safely.

Living through flare-ups and managing their severity

There are two core areas to consider when living with gout. The first is getting through flare ups with minimum pain and disruption to your life and the second is looking at ways to prevent flare-ups in the first place, or at least to reduce their severity.

Your doctor will be able to offer tailored advice for your specific case, so it is important to book an appointment with your GP if you experience symptoms of gout. But in brief, the following steps will help you to manage flare-ups:

• Take any gout medication you have been prescribed as quickly as possible when you experience signs of a flare-up, as it will usually take two to three days to take effect.
• Rest and elevate the affected limb.
• Protect the affected joint and try to avoid knocking it.
• Keep the affected area cool. You could apply an ice pack, or if you don’t have one, try wrapping a bag of frozen peas in a towel.
• Stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of water or diluted fruit juice.

There are also proactive measures you can take to reduce the frequency and severity of gout flare-ups. Remember, the root cause of gout is high levels of urate, and you can manage this by avoiding or reducing certain food groups in your diet. These include red meat, seafood, offal and foods containing yeast extract. Flare-ups can be triggered and aggravated by alcoholic drinks, especially if you drink beer and spirits in significant quantities. By reducing your alcohol intake and drinking more water instead, you will make it harder for those urate crystals to form.

Other lifestyle changes that can help include maintaining a healthy weight to ease the stress on weight-bearing joints and taking regular exercise. However, be careful to avoid activities that might put extra stress on the areas affected by gout, and always speak to your doctor before undertaking any major lifestyle changes.

If you or a loved one are among the 1.5 million people in the UK who is living with gout, remember there are plenty of resources available to help you through those flare-ups. Everybody’s needs are different, so why not pop in to the CareCo store that is local to you to explore options?