I have high uric acid since 20 years. Please advise.

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 40 year old male. I have high uric acid for 20 years. Currently, I am taking Allopurinol 300 mg and Methylpred 4 mg. For the last 3 months, the uric acid level has been less than 5. I am confused why there are still some attacks?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

If you have been taking preventive gout medicine for a long time and have started to have flares for the first time in a while, call your doctor. He may talk to you about changing your dosage or your medicine.

In addition to medication, these self-care tips may help your gout flare-up pain:

If the pain is not too bad, try cold packs or cold compresses on the joint to lessen the inflammation and help the pain. Ice the joint for 20 to 30 minutes several times a day.
Rest the joint. It is good to rest until the pain lessens. Most people having an acute attack of gouty arthritis probably will not want to move the joint much anyway. Raise the joint if you can on a pillow or any other soft object.
Drink water. Lack of water in your body can make your uric acid levels rise even higher than they already are. Drinking water will help your body stabilize uric acid to a normal level.
Watch what you eat and drink. Foods that are high in purines (seafood, organ meats like liver, and even some vegetables) can increase the uric acid in your blood even more. So can fructose-sweetened drinks and alcohol, especially beer.

Hope this helps. Take care.