What to do if uric acid is high in physical examination

Uric acid is an indicator of human kidney function. Kidneys are the main organs of excretion in the human body. If there is a problem with the kidneys, the entire metabolism and excretion cycle will be affected. Then, the health of the entire human body will inevitably be affected. Therefore, kidney function is an item that must be checked during physical examinations, and uric acid is an indicator of kidney function. Too high or too low uric acid will reflect problems with kidney function.

With the improvement of living standards, more and more people have high uric acid levels. At first, there are no symptoms of high uric acid levels, just like normal people. It can be improved through regulation. So, what should we do if the uric acid level is high during the physical examination? How to treat it?

Uric acid is a metabolic waste product with no physiological function. Two-thirds of the uric acid in the human body is excreted through urine, while the remaining one-third is excreted from the intestines or decomposed by bacteria in the intestines. Excessive production of uric acid and/or decreased excretion of uric acid can lead to hyperuricemia, and some can even lead to gout.

●Two methods for detecting uric acid

Determination of blood uric acid (multiple use)

Draw venous blood for uric acid measurement. The normal value of blood uric acid is 0.15~0.38mmol/L (millimole/liter) for men and 0.1~0.3mmol/L for women. After menopause, the test value of women is close to that of men. A blood uric acid level higher than 0.42mmol/L is considered hyperuricemia. Since blood uric acid is affected by many factors and is volatile, it should be measured repeatedly.

Urine uric acid determination (rarely used)

After 5 days of low-purine diet, collect urine for 24 hours for testing. Uric acid levels greater than 3.6 mmol are considered excessive uric acid production, which only occurs in a minority of cases; levels less than 3.6 mmol are considered reduced uric acid excretion. Uric acid determination can be used to preliminarily determine the type of hyperuricemia, which is helpful for the selection of uric acid-lowering drugs and the identification of the nature of urinary stones.

●Strict dietary control

Many people with abnormal blood uric acid like to eat foods rich in purine and have the bad habit of alcoholism. Therefore, the first priority of dietary control is to avoid high-purine foods and alcohol.

Avoid high-purine diet, prohibit high-purine foods, limit purine foods, and reduce exogenous nuclear protein to lower blood uric acid levels and increase uric acid excretion.

According to the number of milligrams of purine contained per 100 grams of food, commonly used foods can be roughly divided into four categories.

High-purine foods: animal offal, sardines, anchovies, thick chicken soup, broth, beer, etc., contain more than 100 mg of purine per 100 grams and are considered purine-rich foods.

Polypurines: Most fish, shellfish, meat and poultry contain between 50 and 100 mg of purine per 100 grams of food, and are foods high in purine.

Foods with higher purine content: herring, salmon, beef, lamb, chicken, shrimp, crab, and vegetables such as asparagus, cauliflower, green beans, kidney beans, spinach, mushrooms, peanuts, etc. Every 100 grams of food contains between 25 and 50 mg of purine, which are foods with higher purine content.

Low-purine category: milk, eggs, rice and pasta products and most vegetables, which contain less than 25 mg of purine per 100 grams of food, are foods that contain little or no purine.

Prohibition of alcohol

Patients with hyperuricemia should strictly abstain from all kinds of alcoholic beverages. This is because long-term and heavy drinking can lead to increased blood uric acid and blood lactic acid, stimulating an increase in purine. In addition, if you often eat high-purine foods while drinking, alcohol can accelerate the metabolism of purine, leading to increased blood uric acid levels and inducing acute attacks of gouty arthritis.

In addition to diet control, you should also drink more water (except for those with renal insufficiency) to facilitate the excretion of uric acid. Obese patients must reduce calorie intake and lose weight. You should choose more alkaline foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, especially high-potassium, low-sodium alkaline vegetables, which not only have a diuretic effect, but also can promote the dissolution and excretion of urate.

The above is the experts’ summary of the causes and treatments of high uric acid levels. Now that you understand the above causes and treatments, don’t be too scared if you find high uric acid levels during a physical examination. Stay calm and choose appropriate treatment methods to improve the high uric acid level and restore our kidney function to normal.