When we talk about gout, many people may think of middle-aged and elderly people. However, in recent years, this disease, which was once considered a "disease of old age", has also appeared in children. Like in a recent case where a 14-year-old boy was diagnosed with gout because of a long-term poor diet, we had to revisit the issue.
Gout is a type of joint pain that is mainly caused by inflammation caused by elevated uric acid levels. Often we associate it with an unhealthy lifestyle in adults, such as a high-purine diet and lack of exercise.
But now, it is quietly affecting our next generation and has become a topic that cannot be ignored in the field of children's health.
Why are more and more children suffering from gout, and what are the problems with their lifestyles and eating habits? Let's take a look.
1. Introduction to gout
When it comes to gout, some people may frown because it doesn't have a good reputation. Gout, medically known as gouty arthritis, is an inflammatory disease caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood, causing urate to be deposited in the joints. Doesn't that sound complicated? Simply put, it's because there are too many substances in the body, and it causes problems in the joints.
Often, people with gout experience sudden onset of severe pain, often at night, that can be so painful that it is impossible to sleep. This pain usually occurs at the base of the thumb, but it can also affect other joints, such as the knee and ankle. In addition to pain, the affected area may also be red, swollen, and hot, making it extremely uncomfortable.
One characteristic of gout is that its attacks tend to be cyclical. This means that while the pain may go away on its own, it will come back sooner or later if the underlying cause is not managed. Long-term untreated gout can also lead to long-term damage to joints and even kidney problems.
You may ask, why is there so much uric acid? It is usually closely related to our diet and lifestyle. High-purine foods, such as red meat, seafood, beer, etc., are the main sources of uric acid. Gout can occur when we have too much of these foods in our diet, or when the body is unable to eliminate these uric acids effectively.
2. Characteristics of gout in children
Although gout mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people, a small number of cases have shown that gout can occur in children. Yes, although less common, gout does affect children as well.
Unlike adults, gout symptoms in children may be less pronounced and sometimes even mistaken for ordinary growing pains or sports injuries. Therefore, it is very important for parents to pay attention to whether their children have recurrent joint pain, redness and swelling.
At the same time, the causes of gout in children are different from those in adults. In children, gout is often thought of as a manifestation of some underlying medical problem. It can be related to a pre-existing condition at birth, obesity, Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, or kidney disease. Male children experience a sudden increase in uric acid levels at about 12 years of age, compared to female children who excrete uric acid during puberty due to rising estrogen levels. Elevated uric acid levels may cause gout.
Genetic problems such as HPRT deficiency (also known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome) and overactive PRPP (phosphoribose pyrophosphate) synthetase can also cause gout in children. These disorders are uncommon but easy to detect. Patients produce additional uric acid and may have gout and uric acid-containing kidney stones.
These conditions usually occur in boys, but occasionally in girls. Kidney-related problems are also a major cause of gout in children, with kidney disease reducing the body's ability to eliminate uric acid.
For example, due to kidney disease caused by a mutation in the gene that makes the uromodulin protein, patients begin to develop gout in their teenage years and gradually develop kidney failure. Clinical statistics show that these pediatric patients often have many other family members with gout or kidney disease.
3. Diet and life management of children with gout
In the above sharing, we can see that most of the patients who suffer from gout in children are related to family factors and genetic factors. However, in terms of lifestyle and dietary habits, we can reduce the symptoms of gout in children or the occurrence of their medical records through reasonable control.
The first thing that needs to be paid attention to is to reduce the intake of high-purine foods, which are the main source of uric acid, and high-purine foods such as red meat and seafood, as well as yeast extracts in food additives and certain vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, etc. Therefore, in terms of dietary collocation, the intake of this type of food should be minimized, which can effectively control the synthesis of uric acid, thereby reducing the complication of gout or the aggravation of symptoms.
It is also important to note that children should avoid high-sugar beverages and foods, especially foods that contain high fructose, when it comes to sugar intake. This is because studies have shown that fructose can significantly increase uric acid production.
Nowadays, the younger generation of alcohol consumption is also significantly increasing among adolescents, but alcohol intake is also the main reason for the increase in uric acid production, so it is strictly forbidden for minors to drink alcohol.
Excessive weight or obesity can also increase the risk of gout, so it is important to encourage children to do moderate physical activity to control body weight and promote metabolism, which can also help control uric acid levels.
4. Medical treatment of gout
The treatment of gout is mainly carried out from two aspects, one is to control the acute attack of gout, and the other is to prevent future attacks of gout.
In the former, doctors usually give patients a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which can effectively reduce the patient's pain and reduce inflammation, and in some cases, when the non-vehicle anti-inflammatory drug is not appropriate or effective, the doctor may also recommend oral or injectable corticosteroid drugs to reduce the patient's symptoms.
In terms of preventing future attacks, patients need long-term management through drugs, which usually include allopurinol, febuxostat, etc., or through uric acid excretion promoters, such as probucol, to help uric acid excretion.
Of course, in children, the above medications need to be taken with special attention, and parents need to strictly follow the guidance of doctors to help children control their condition.
summary
After understanding the basic situation of gout and the characteristics of gout in children, it is not difficult to find that this disease, which was once regarded as a "disease of old age", is now quietly affecting the younger generation. The emergence of this phenomenon is undoubtedly a wake-up call to us: the importance of a healthy lifestyle cannot be ignored.
For parents, paying attention to their children's eating habits, maintaining a moderate amount of exercise, and identifying and treating related diseases in a timely manner are the keys to helping children stay away from gout.
We hope that every parent can pay more attention to the health of their children, and for those who have a history of related diseases, they should prevent the occurrence of gout in their daily life, and hope that this disease can be controlled with the joint efforts of everyone.