Gout most often affects the joints of the extremities. Severe pain accompanies a person both at rest and in motion. Sometimes, even if drug therapy is chosen correctly, the discomfort does not go away. To relieve gout at home, you can steam your feet. It is important to understand the essence of the procedure so as not to harm your health.
You can steam your feet if you have gout
If a person experiences joint pain, he will limit his movements. As a result, contractures develop - a pathological decrease in mobility. Warm water helps relieve the condition. Increasing microcirculation during heating relieves pain. Painless extension of the joints of the arms and legs becomes possible, and the feeling of stiffness disappears.
Treatment of gout should be comprehensive. It consists of:
- diets;
- taking pharmacological drugs;
- physiotherapy
The diet consists of a sharp restriction in the diet of meat, meat broths, fish, mushrooms, legumes, chocolate and other foods rich in purines. The issue of eating tomatoes remains controversial: they contain few purines, but a lot of oxalic acid. Their number should probably be limited.
Drug treatment is carried out by a doctor who will select a set of medications for a specific patient. Physiotherapy includes exposure to warm solutions, massages, gymnastics, etc.
Why is it useful to visit a bathhouse for gout?
Gout is a metabolic disease belonging to the group of rheumatic pathologies, in which monosodium urate (uric acid salt crystals) is deposited in some tissues of the body. This is based on a decrease in the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys, that is, the accumulation of salts in them. What causes the concentration of uric salt crystals in the blood serum.
Causes of the disease
Gout is a disease that can be inherited. Patients with this disease have:
- defect in the metabolic processes of uric acid;
- defect of enzymes that help its utilization and excretion;
- defects in the system of internal synthesis of purine substances.
But besides this, there are a number of other reasons caused by external influences:
- abuse of meat products;
- alcohol abuse;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- overweight;
Exacerbation of gout occurs when:
- viral infections;
- physical and psychological stress;
- injuries;
- hypothermia.
Risk group
Most often, men suffer from gout at the age of forty. Women are less susceptible to the disease, and symptoms appear closer to age sixty. This is thought to be caused by levels of hormones that help eliminate uric acid from women's bodies.
Gout is also called the “disease of abundance” or “disease of kings”, since sedentary people who love to eat delicious food, including meat products, and drink alcohol are more susceptible to it.
Symptoms
A person with gout begins to suffer from gouty arthritis: tearing or throbbing pain in the joints and their swelling. Fever and chills may occur.
Kidney damage is also a clinical manifestation of gout. The patient may feel nagging pain in the lumbar region and experience painful urination.
During a clinical examination, blood parameters change: high leukocytes and an increase in proteins of the acute phase of inflammation are detected.
Bath and massage - effective treatment of gout
It is very important to follow a diet and treatment measures for gout. If this is not done, gouty arthritis can lead to degenerative changes in the joint and its complete immobility. In this case, you will have to resort to surgery.
The most popular traditional medicine for gout is the bath. And there really is a positive effect when visiting a bathhouse or sauna. It is justified by the effect on the body of high temperatures, as a result of which the natural process of sweating occurs, with the help of which excess salts and various toxic substances are released from the body, and an active metabolic reaction is launched.
However, doctors say that a single visit to a bathhouse or sauna will not lead to a noticeable effect. In order to restore normal metabolic processes in the body, regular visits to the steam room are required.
Some rules for getting the greatest effect from visiting a bathhouse or steam room:
- strict adherence to the diet;
- It is advisable to use essential oils when visiting the bathhouse, since when heated they release a large amount of useful substances, which promotes treatment;
- drink large amounts of still water; after profuse sweating, large losses occur in the body, which need to be replenished;
- A sudden change in temperature is undesirable, as this may lead to a relapse.
- Visiting the bathhouse is prohibited during exacerbation or progression of the disease.
It should take no more than 5-7 minutes to steam, and after the bath it is advisable to take a warm shower.
To achieve a more pronounced therapeutic effect, you should pay attention to a simple folk remedy - a broom. The simultaneous action of heat and massage with a broom improves arterial and venous microcirculation, prevents stagnation, and stimulates lymph outflow. All this reduces pain and swelling in the joint area. The beneficial properties of the plant from which the broom is made will have a beneficial effect on inflamed joints. Which plants should you choose?
Here is a list of the most useful plants from which a broom can be made:
- birch branches;
- eucalyptus;
- oak branches;
- linden branches;
- maple branches;
- nettle leaves and stems.
To get rid of joint pain caused by gout, you should turn your attention to a nettle broom. When steamed, nettle causes a local irritant effect, promoting the release of harmful substances, including uric acid salt crystals. No less useful is a eucalyptus broom. It has a general strengthening and antibacterial effect.
How to properly visit the bathhouse:
- First, you should take a warm shower to prepare your body for high temperatures;
- enter the steam room and sit there for no more than 5 minutes;
- It’s worth going to the dressing room to normalize the condition;
- you can go into the steam room again and use a broom (again, staying in the steam room should not exceed 5 minutes!);
- After leaving the steam room, you can take a warm shower and drink natural juice or, even better, diuretic herbs.
If a bath is contraindicated
But a regular bath is not always allowed for gout patients due to concomitant diseases. What to do? There is an equally useful alternative - a cedar barrel. This design is made of Siberian cedar, which has antiseptic and healing properties. It performs the same functions as a sauna. The herbal barrel has a compartment in which you can put herbs and decoctions that help with gout.
This procedure has fewer contraindications, in particular due to the fact that the head is not exposed to high temperatures, which means that a sharp increase in pressure is not so scary.
Author: K.M.N., Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences M.A. Bobyr
Important rules for the procedure
To warm problem joints at home, use warm water. Hands, feet or elbows are immersed in a bowl or basin; a deeper container is required for the knee.
Water temperature
The optimal temperature for a foot bath is 37-40 degrees Celsius. These indicators are as close as possible to the normal human body temperature, therefore, under such conditions, metabolic processes work best. Therapeutic substances will act faster and the effect will be more pronounced.
The sensitivity of the feet may be reduced during illness. To avoid scalding, the water should not be too hot! Before immersing your feet, be sure to check the temperature of the solution in the container with a thermometer, and if it is missing, gently touch it with your finger.
Time for the procedure
Most often, gout pain worsens at night. Therefore, it is better to take baths before bed. Another argument in favor of evening time is that your feet won’t get too cold in bed. But if the discomfort is more pronounced during the day, then baths are done in the morning. The legs then need to be insulated.
Duration of the procedure
If the steaming period is short, the beneficial substances will not have time to act. If the process is delayed, the skin swells and becomes damaged, and the solution cools down. Therefore, bath time varies from 10 to 30 minutes. If discomfort or burning occurs, the process is stopped immediately.
Frequency of procedure
Usually baths are taken in a course lasting 14 days. But if there are no contraindications, they are performed more often.
Additional Impact
While steaming your legs, it is convenient to knead the joints. It is important to do this carefully, without making unnatural movements. Manipulations help maintain limb mobility longer.
Actions after warming up
Exposure to water can cause dryness. To avoid this, your feet need to be wiped dry and then lubricated with a nourishing cream. It is also advisable to wear cotton socks. If your feet are cold, you need to wear wool ones over them.
Gout. Symptoms, treatment
What is gout?
Gout is a form of arthritis that often causes sudden, severe attacks of pain, tenderness, redness, swelling (inflammation) in some joints that may be hot to the touch. A rheumatologist diagnoses and treats gout. Gout most often affects the joint of the big toe, but gout can also affect other joints of the legs (knees, ankles). Less commonly, gout develops in the joints of the hands (wrist and elbow), and almost never in the joints of the spine.
Symptoms of gout.
- Sudden intense pain in the joint, which often first appears in the morning;
- Swelling of the joint, hyperemia of the skin in the joint area.
What causes gout?
Previously, gout was considered a disease of the rich and famous who could afford too much fatty food and wine. It is now known that fatty foods and excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to the development of gout, but they are not the determining causes of the disease. It is now known that gout develops as a result of pathological deposition of crystals (sodium urates) around the articular cartilage, and in later stages in the joint fluid. This process leads to inflammation, accompanied by pain. Urate crystals can also deposit in the kidneys, resulting in the formation of “urate” kidney stones. Scientists believe that this occurs due to excess production of uric acid in the body, or as a result of a decrease in the body's ability to remove uric acid from the blood through the kidneys. Normally, uric acid dissolved in the blood easily passes through the kidneys and is excreted from the body in urine. The cause of so-called primary gout is probably the presence of an abnormal X chromosome that is inherited.
Consumption of certain foods containing large amounts of uric acid also contributes in some cases to the development of gout. These foods especially include red meat and organ meats (such as liver and kidneys), as well as shellfish and anchovies. The level of uric acid in the blood may vary depending on:
- How efficiently your kidneys remove uric acid;
- What you eat;
- Your general health;
- How much alcohol do you drink;
- What medications do you take;
- What concomitant diseases do you suffer from?
Science is not yet clear why gout does not develop in every person with high uric acid levels. It is only known that the ability of the kidneys to remove uric acid from the body is partly determined by heredity. However, this does not mean that if someone in the family suffers from gout, then all family members will suffer from gout. Heredity, along with the risk factors mentioned above (which affect uric acid levels in the blood), as well as male gender and age, increase the risk of developing gout.
How often do gout flare-ups occur?
Attacks of gout may recur from time to time in the same or different joints. The first “attack” can last from several days to two weeks if treatment is not started. Over time, gout attacks may occur more frequently, other joints may be involved, the symptoms of the disease may become more intense, and the attacks may last longer. Repeated attacks can damage the joint. In some patients, gout manifests itself only once, but this is rather the exception. Statistically, about 90 percent of patients who experience one attack of gout will at least experience a second attack, although this may occur for several years after the first attack. Some patients may experience gout flare-ups every two, three, or more weeks.
Who suffers from gout?
The following groups of people are more likely to suffer from gout:
- Men (usually over 40 years of age) and menopausal women;
- People who are overweight;
- People who abuse alcohol;
- People who frequently use diuretics to lower blood pressure or treat chronic heart failure.
Gout can also occur in younger patients if they take certain medications for a long period of time, drink alcohol to excess, or have certain genetic disorders.
How is gout diagnosed?
Gout cannot be diagnosed by blood tests (uric acid levels) alone, as many people have elevated blood uric acid levels but will never develop gout. In addition to a medical examination and studying the medical history, one of the methods for diagnosing gout is puncture of the inflamed joint with the collection of intra-articular fluid for examination. The resulting liquid is examined under a microscope to detect sodium urate crystals. In addition to diagnosis, puncture to remove fluid from the inflamed joint, in some cases, also has a therapeutic, albeit palliative, effect. This occurs due to a decrease in fluid pressure in the joint capsule, which leads to a decrease in pain intensity. The above diagnostic method is simple, but, unfortunately, not always objective. The fact is that with gout, crystals may be absent from the intra-articular fluid. Sometimes crystals are not detected the first time, but can be identified during diagnostic punctures of the joint during subsequent exacerbations. Because gout can cause chronic joint pain and involve other joints, it is extremely important to get an accurate diagnosis and specific treatment as early as possible.
How to treat gout?
Gout belongs to the group of chronic diseases, it is impossible to get rid of it, but at the same time, you can select treatment aimed at preventing relapses (exacerbations). With proper treatment, gout symptoms can often resolve within 24 hours of starting therapy.
The goals of treatment for gout are:
- reduction in intensity or elimination of pain and inflammation;
- preventing future gout flare-ups that can cause joint damage.
The treatment your doctor prescribes will depend on several factors, including the patient's age, medications taken (for other conditions), general health, medical history, and the severity of the gout attacks. The following groups of drugs are used in the treatment of gout:
1. Anti-inflammatory drugs. Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce pain and swelling of the joint during an exacerbation. As a rule, they are prescribed until the symptoms of gout completely stop. Considering that anti-inflammatory drugs have side effects, your doctor will discuss them with you and, if they occur, you may be prescribed another drug. Anti-inflammatory drugs used for gout include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are typically prescribed to treat sudden and severe attacks of gout. NSAIDs usually reduce inflammation and pain within a few hours;
- Corticosteroids may be prescribed to patients who cannot take NSAIDs. Corticosteroids, like NSAIDs, reduce inflammation and reduce pain. Corticosteroids may be prescribed as tablets or given as an injection into the affected joint;
- Colchicine. Sometimes used in small doses over a long period of time to reduce the risk of gout relapses. The drug has anti-inflammatory and anti-gout effects.
2. Medicines that affect the level of uric acid in the blood. Some patients may need to be prescribed drugs from this group. Unlike anti-inflammatory drugs, they do not reduce inflammation and pain, but they do help reduce uric acid levels in the blood. Such drugs, for example, include: allopurinol; probenecid and Febuxostat, which is also called Uloric. These drugs are recommended for patients with high uric acid levels, repeated relapses of gout, as well as patients with urate kidney stones. The goal of treatment is to reduce blood uric acid levels to less than 6 mg/dL. As mentioned above, drugs in this group do not relieve symptoms during an exacerbation, but reducing the level of uric acid over time prevents the development of relapses. A sudden drop in uric acid levels can cause an acute attack of gout. To relieve acute attacks of gout in patients taking allopurinol or similar drugs, colchicine or NSAIDs are additionally prescribed until symptoms disappear.
Side effects of medications.
Not everyone experiences side effects from medications, and their occurrence varies from patient to patient. The occurrence of side effects depends on the dose, type of drug, concomitant diseases, or combination with other drugs that the patient is taking. If a rash or itching develops while taking allopurinol, you should stop taking the drug and notify your doctor.
Can gout be treated by following a certain diet?
Excluding certain foods from the diet, for most patients, does not play a decisive role in maintaining the required level of uric acid. However, limiting the above foods that cause increased uric acid synthesis and reducing alcohol consumption are often helpful.
Ingredients that can be added to water
The medicinal composition is selected taking into account the needs of the person. Both ingredients that are always in the kitchen and exotic ones are used. The recipe is chosen based on the person’s capabilities and preferences.
Simple steaming
To do this, the feet are immersed in heated water. At the end, problem areas are lubricated with camphor and then iodine.
Mustard
Take 10 tablespoons of mustard powder and dilute them in 500 ml of hot water. Pour the solution into the container for the procedure and adjust to the desired volume. Use this composition for no more than 10 minutes. Once completed, rinse your feet thoroughly with clean water.
Iodine and soda
9 drops of iodine and 3 tablespoons of soda are diluted in 3 liters of water. After the procedure, the seals are lubricated with Lugol's solution or iodine.
Iodized or sea salt
To obtain the optimal composition, add 1 tablespoon of salt for every liter of water. Salt water has the added benefit of improving the condition of the skin on your feet.
Decoctions of medicinal herbs
Herbal decoctions are made from herbs that have analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Such plants include juniper, sage, nettle, chamomile, oat stems, angelica, and soapwort.
To prepare the decoction, 100 grams of raw materials are poured with 1 liter of boiling water, wrapped or placed in a thermos, and left for 30 minutes. The resulting infusion is diluted with hot water to the required volume.
When is it forbidden to hover your feet?
During an exacerbation of gout, heat therapy should be postponed. It is better to start taking baths when the acute period is over. If a gout attack occurs during a course of physiotherapy, it is interrupted until improvement occurs.
Foot baths are also not recommended for:
- pregnancy;
- varicose veins;
- the presence of wounds, inflammation of the skin on the legs;
- diabetes mellitus;
- cardiovascular diseases.
Side effects
While steaming your feet, you may experience intolerance to the ingredients added to the water. If you do not follow safety precautions, you can get burned.
Gout
The manifestation of signs of gout and treatment of the disease depends on the intensity of the development of the pathology. Diagnostic measures begin with collecting anamnesis. The doctor determines the presence of chronic diseases, genetic predisposition, provoking factors, lifestyle and eating habits. The signs and treatment of gout are similar in men and women. Laboratory and instrumental studies consist of:
- blood tests (general and biochemical);
- general urinalysis;
- studies of synovial fluid;
- uric acid level tests;
- determination of serum urate levels;
- bacteriology of synovial fluid;
- joint puncture (as prescribed by a doctor);
- MRI of joints;
- Ultrasound of joints;
- MRI of the kidneys;
- Ultrasound of the kidneys.
Purpose of treatment
For the disease gout, treatment is prescribed depending on the test results obtained. Therapy is prescribed by a rheumatologist. Gout cannot be completely cured. With the help of supportive therapy and compliance with medical recommendations, nutritional control, painful attacks, their intensity and regularity of occurrence can be stopped. For gout, clinical recommendations include the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques. The main task is to stabilize the level of uric acid in the blood and reduce the amount of crystalline deposits. Treatment of gout can be roughly divided into three stages:
- relief of an acute attack and reduction of pain;
- prevention of disease development;
- prevention of pathology.
Medicine for gout is prescribed by a rheumatologist depending on the severity of the attack, the number of affected joints, and the presence of renal failure. In drug therapy, the following are used in various combinations and concentrations: colchicine, prednisolone, NSAIDs, intra-articular corticosteroids, xanthine oxidase inhibitors, etc. Treatment of gout on the legs in men and women largely depends on adherence to a special diet.
Treating gout at home involves following medical recommendations: taking medications as prescribed and following a diet on an ongoing basis.
Specifics of diet composition
Special control requires nutrition for gout in order to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood to an acceptable level. The rheumatologist conducts a detailed consultation with each patient, because the result of therapy depends on self-control. It is recommended to adhere to dietary nutrition - table No. 6 and No. 8.
Prohibited foods for gout:
- fatty varieties of fish, meat, offal;
- alcohol in any form and quantity;
- canned food, lard, meat broths;
- legumes (beans, soybeans and peas) and mushrooms;
- chocolate, cocoa, strong tea, coffee;
- sorrel, spinach, eggplant, radish, lettuce;
- smoked meats and sausages;
- raspberries and pastries with rich creams.
Answers on questions
Can I use hot water if I have cracked heels?
If the crack is sharp and bleeds, then heat therapy is carried out after healing. If the crack is chronic, does not bleed, and extends only to the depth of the skin, then sessions are possible. To do this, it is better to add anti-inflammatory herbs to the water.
If you are allergic to chamomile, can you use its decoction?
If a person is allergic to taking the drug orally, external use is also excluded. So in such a situation, using chamomile is contraindicated.
If a person has arthrosis and pain, are baths contraindicated?
Osteoarthritis and arthritis are not the same thing! Arthrosis is an anatomical change in the joint, arthritis is inflammation of the joint. Both conditions cause pain. A contraindication to the procedure is an exacerbation of the disease with acute inflammation. Thus, taking baths is prohibited if you have arthritis. With arthrosis this is possible.
Is it possible to warm your feet if you have nail fungus?
Yes. It will be successful to combine warming your feet with caring for affected nails. After steaming in water, anti-fungal medications will be more effective.
Gout causes irreversible changes in joints
11.11.2021
Known in the past as the disease of kings, gout causes swelling of the joints , but its causes come from within.
How is gout different from other types of arthritis? What's special about it?
Gout is one of the most common and best-studied types of arthritis. This inflammation of the joint is arthritis, which occurs as a result of the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint in people with elevated concentrations of uric acid in the blood . You could say this is synonymous with urinary arthritis. Gout is a metabolic arthritis of known cause caused by the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint. Uric acid is a product of purine metabolism that is found in the cells of our body or comes from food. In healthy people, uric acid is contained in the blood at a certain concentration, which is slightly higher in men.
Excess uric acid is excreted in the urine . If this does not happen, there is excess uric acid the blood In addition to the joint, uric acid crystals can be deposited in the skin, soft tissues, and kidneys . The resulting small, hard, white nodules on the skin and earlobes are called tophi. In the kidneys they appear in the form of stones.
Most often, the first attack of gout occurs on the foot at the base of the first toe. This joint is painful, swollen, inflamed and red and is distinguished from most other arthritis by its characteristic redness. Subsequent attacks of gout may affect other joints . If gout is not treated , severe deformities of the inflamed joint occur and the disease takes a chronic form.
What factors influence gout and increase the risk?
This form of arthritis was known to the ancient Egyptians. Hippocrates expressed his knowledge about gout in the form of aphorisms that are still true even after 2500 years. In the Middle Ages, the connection between excessive consumption of food and alcohol and the occurrence of gout was the subject of many cartoons. From the above we can conclude that excessive consumption of food and alcohol, and then physical inactivity and increased body weight are risk factors.
It is more common in men, although according to epidemiological data, the incidence in women has doubled over the past two decades. Due to increasing incontinence in eating and drinking, the incidence and prevalence of gout has been increasing in recent years. It should be noted that some people have an inherited tendency to produce elevated levels of uric acid. And some drugs increase the concentration of uric acid, and it also accumulates in some malignant and renal diseases.
When to suspect gout?
Gout should be suspected if a person with elevated uric acid levels develops painful swelling . People with gout often suffer from other diseases. It is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes , heart disease, high blood fats , kidney stones , and obesity . Therefore, in these diseases, in case of painful swelling of the joint, it is necessary to think about gout. Gout is well diagnosed and well controlled.
How is gout treated?
When gout is treated, inflammation of the joints - arthritis, and it is necessary to correct the metabolic disorder - hyperuricemia. Inflammation of the joint, first or repeated, is treated not only with rest and a state of rest, but also with the use of cold. to the painful swollen joint or gently massage the painful and swollen joint with ice for a few minutes. Drugs that reduce inflammation, pain and swelling , most often from the group of non-steroidal antirheumatic drugs.
To correct hyperuricemia, drugs are used that reduce the concentration of uric acid in the blood . However, treatment requires discipline and cooperation on the part of the patient, who must adhere to dietary recommendations, eat right, eliminate alcohol, reduce excess weight, and increase fluid intake, especially water.
Is this a progressive disease or can the symptoms be completely eliminated?
Gout is a common and potentially progressive disease if left untreated . It can become a chronic disease and cause serious irreversible changes in the joints affected by inflammation. If this happens, unfortunately, your daily ability to work and live normally is reduced. Therefore, the disease must be diagnosed in time and treatment started.
Only through the joint efforts of the patient and the doctor can the disease be well controlled. And only in this case can you avoid irreversible serious changes in the joints , which significantly and permanently worsen the quality of life. Is it possible to live a normal life with gout? If you have gout, you can live a normal but orderly life.
Published in Rheumatology Premium Clinic