Chinese medicine for gout

There are many kinds of drugs for the treatment of gout, but most patients will not feel any improvement in their condition even after taking these drugs, and may even feel that some adverse effects have occurred in their bodies, which is what people often call sequelae. In this case, they should take some Chinese herbal medicines. The side effects of these herbal medicines will be smaller and the effects will be more prominent.

Gout treatment mainly includes two aspects - treating the pain and inflammatory response during gout attacks. Prevent gout attacks and reduce blood uric acid to <6 mg/dl (357μmol/L). Regardless of whether they have CKD or not, gout patients require lifelong urate-lowering treatment unless they are intolerant or experience adverse reactions.

For obese gout patients, while paying attention to blood uric acid, we should also guide patients to exercise regularly, monitor blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, liver transaminase and other indicators, provide comprehensive treatment, maintain blood uric acid levels within the standard, and reduce the number of affected joints as much as possible.

Eat a low-purine diet, maintain a reasonable weight, quit drinking, drink plenty of water, and drink more than 2000ml of water per day. Avoid overeating, excessive drinking, cold and dampness, excessive fatigue and mental stress, wear comfortable shoes, prevent joint injuries, and use drugs that affect uric acid excretion such as certain diuretics and low-dose aspirin with caution. Prevent and treat concomitant diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Colchicine Colchicine is used in the early stages of gout attacks and can quickly control symptoms. The 2012 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines state that colchicine should be taken within 36 hours of an acute gout attack, and its use in the prodromal period can prevent gout attacks. It is still the first-line drug in patients with renal insufficiency, but the dosage should be reduced because renal insufficiency will significantly reduce its clearance rate and increase drug toxicity. Up to 20% of oral drugs are excreted unchanged by the kidneys, and in patients with severe renal failure, the half-life of colchicine is 2 to 3 times that of patients with normal renal function. Meanwhile, colchicine cannot be removed by dialysis, so its toxicity is exacerbated in CKD patients.

The surgical indications for tophi mainly involve the following aspects:

(1) Tophi cause limb deformities and functional impairments that affect daily life;

(2) Pressure on the skin, causing skin ulceration to occur or to occur;

(3) Sinus formation, chalky exudation or infection of varying degrees;

(4) Joint movement disorders and nerve compression symptoms.

If the diameter of the tophi is <1 cm, active conservative treatment is recommended. Some scholars also believe that once tophi are formed, they are generally difficult to resorb, and those with a diameter >1.5 cm should undergo surgery as soon as possible.