Unstable uric acid levels, high and low, can not only cause potential long-term harm to the body, but also often trigger unbearable pain. Understanding why uric acid levels fluctuate and how to deal with this pain is essential for maintaining good health. In general, the fluctuation of uric acid may be affected by work and rest, medication, diet, etc.
1. Influence of work and rest
Staying up late for a long time can interfere with the body's biological clock, leading to hormone secretion disorders. In particular, the secretion of stress hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormones may increase, and changes in these hormones can affect the metabolism and excretion of uric acid. The kidneys don't get rest, which affects their normal function. The kidneys are the main organ for uric acid excretion, and impaired function leads to a decrease in uric acid excretion, which accumulates in the body.
2. Drug effects
Because taking drugs for some diseases, such as antihypertensive drugs, diuretics, etc., will inhibit the excretion of uric acid, causing uric acid to increase, and after the drug is metabolized, uric acid returns to normal, so uric acid becomes high and low. If uric acid cannot be lowered, you can follow the doctor's advice and take allopurinol sustained-release tablets, benzbromarone tablets, and febuxostat tablets for treatment.
3. Dietary influences
If you like to drink alcohol, alcohol will inhibit the excretion of uric acid in the body, so uric acid will become high, and eating animal offal, broth, seafood and other high-purine diets will also increase uric acid significantly. After controlling the diet, uric acid will decrease again. Uric acid fluctuates from high to low, and patients need to pay attention to eating more foods with lower purines, such as celery, tomatoes, guava, lemons, etc., to reduce uric acid.
How should uric acid be treated?
Gout, a disease that often strikes people at 3-6 a.m., causes unbearable pain to sufferers, especially severe pain in the toes, which often makes it difficult to walk. At the initial attack, the course of the disease may be short, with spontaneous remission in 3-5 days or about a week. However, the frequency of seizures may increase over time.
Acute exacerbations
During an acute gout attack, treatment focuses on rapid relief of symptoms of acute arthritis and pain control, rather than lowering uric acid levels. Patients should be on bed rest, elevate the affected limb, apply topical cold compresses, and take anti-inflammatory analgesics promptly. Once symptoms have resolved, the drug can be discontinued and topical medications can be used.
Intermittent phase of gout
The pain disappears, and there are intermittent periods of gout, at which point the focus is on actively lowering uric acid levels. Patients can take urate-lowering drugs under the guidance of a doctor, starting with small doses and gradually increasing until they find the optimal dosage to maintain blood uric acid at 5.0-6.0 mg/dl, and continue to take them for a long time.
Asymptomatic hyperuricemia
For asymptomatic hyperuricemia in whom serum uric acid is elevated but not significant, and there are no arthritic attacks or tophi formation, the focus is on preventing gout attacks through dietary control and uric acid reduction. Experts at home and abroad unanimously recommend that when the blood uric acid level exceeds 420 μmol/L, drug intervention should be carried out.
In addition, domestic experts have also advocated that April 20 of each year be designated as "Hyperuricemia Day" to raise public awareness of hyperuricemia and gout. At the same time, they stressed that as long as the blood uric acid level exceeds 560 μmol/L, regardless of symptoms, drug treatment measures should be actively pursued.
How can gout be prevented?
Regular checking of blood uric acid levels and types is an important means of monitoring the effectiveness of treatment and adjusting treatment regimens in a timely manner. Patients with gout should have a blood uric acid test at least every 3-6 months to assess the condition and response to treatment.
If there is an illness such as tophi formation or abnormal kidney function, it should be examined and treated more closely. Timely detection and treatment of problems can effectively prevent the condition from worsening.
Control a high-purine diet
In the process of preventing gout, dietary control is crucial. Especially for those who love seafood and fine wine, they need to be more vigilant. The combination of high-purine substances rich in seafood and alcohol, especially beer and liquor, can easily lead to an increase in uric acid levels, thereby increasing the risk of gout. Therefore, if you want to stay away from gout, you should consciously avoid these high-purine foods and alcoholic beverages.
In a study of 232 patients with gout, it was found that excessive fatigue (45.7%), consumption of high-purine foods (43.2%), excessive alcohol consumption (25.9%), cold (18.5%), joint trauma (15.5%) and strenuous exercise (9.6%) were all triggers of gout attacks.