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What is gout? What tests should be done to diagnose gout? Are specialized examinations necessary? What disturbing symptoms should I look for? The question is answered by the drug. Paweł Żmuda-Trzebiatowski.
How is gout diagnosed?
Good day. I would like to know what research on gout perform to detect disease. I am 25 years old, I am a man. Gout is a disease that, unfortunately, has occurred quite often in my family. My father and grandfather struggled with it, so it is only natural that now I fear that it will fall on me as well.
I would like to detect it at the earliest possible stage, if, of course, it appears so that I can start treatment as soon as possible and can save myself from the enormous pain that accompanies it. What tests for gout perform? Can the early stages of this disease be detected somehow with the help of basic urine and blood tests, paying close attention to some result (knowing that I am at risk of this disease) or are more specialized tests necessary? Or maybe I should pay close attention to any disturbing symptoms in my body?
I may panic, but I am very afraid of gout and the discomfort that it brings with it. Please help.
The doctor indicates what tests should be performed for gout
Sir, gout symptoms result from deposition in soft tissues sodium urate crystals. The disease most often affects the joints, causing severe pain and swelling with redness. If your doctor suspects you have gout, he or she will measure your blood uric acid levels and the daily loss of acid in your urine.
Unfortunately, even in the process an acute attack of gout uric acid concentration may be normal, therefore, in order to clearly diagnose gout, microscopic examination of the synovial fluid should be performed to detect the presence of sodium urate crystals. In addition to laboratory tests, the doctor may recommend taking x-rays of the affected joints, on which the specialist will look for signs of joint damage, including erosions, strictures or tophus.
Please remember that hyperuricemia itself, and therefore an increased concentration of uric acid in the blood, does not necessarily mean a disease. Only when symptoms appear will it be possible to recognize the disease. Gout most often affects the I metatarsophalangeal joint (the joint of the base of the big toe). The affected joint becomes swollen, severely painful, the skin is reddened with exfoliating epidermis. The disease is much more common in men, unfortunately it is genetically determined, so there is a good chance that you will also get sick with it.
In this case, a proper diet is crucial. Foods rich in purines, from which uric acid is produced, should be limited. These include meat, seafood, and chocolate. In your case, it is worth checking the uric acid concentration in the blood and the result and further proceedings should be discussed with your family doctor.
- Multifunction meter – glucose, cholesterol, uric acid – NOVAMA MultiCheck Pro + can be purchased at Medonet Market and you can control uric acid, cholesterol and glucose levels yourself.
– Lek. Paweł Żmuda-Trzebiatowski
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