Ayurved has a very elaborate, precise and marvelous understanding of the causes, symptoms, classification and most importantly the whole medicinal treatment for GOUT. Gout has the distinction of being known to affect mankind since ages. Ayurvedic classical texts have detailed chapters written on this very severe yet common disease. Historically Gout was known as the Richmans disease or the Disease of the Kings. We will see now the reason for being called so. In Ayurved Gout is called VAATRAKTA or VAATSHONIT.

1.SYMPTOMS of GOUT:

Gout can present in multiple ways. Ayurved has uniquely described some symptoms which are seen when Gout is developing. They are called Poorvaroopa. Only an Ayurvedic expert can identify them and warn the patient beforehand. This can prove to be very beneficial since the patient can take precautionary measures and prevent the development of Gout. In more than 50% of cases, the metatarsophalangeal joint of a big toe is the classical site of the first attack of acute Gouty arthritis. The other joints of the ankle, knees, small joints of hands and feet, may also be affected. The patient is awakened from sleep due to the severe agonizing pain. The joint is red hot and swollen. Fever may be present.

After the initial first attack, the patient is prone to recurrent attacks of Gout which increase in frequency and duration. This leads to Chronic Gout which is marked by cartilage and bone damage, degenerative changes and tophi formation( hard, swollen growths under the skin). Tophi formation can cause severe joint deformities and functional impairment.

Gout can in some patients cause urate stone formation as well as urate nephropathy.  

2.CAUSES of GOUT:

Hyperuricemia(high uric acid)which may lead to crystallization of uric acid is the chief underlying defect in Gout. But this itself is caused by mainly two mechanisms:

a. diminished excretion of uric acid by kidneys: this is responsible for Gout in more than 75% of patients

b. increased production of uric acid: the remaining cases are due to this.

Overall various factors like genetics, lifestyle, diet, other health issues, also many unidentified factors etc. play a role in the development of Gout . Many medicines can also precipitate Gout.

3.RISK factors of GOUT:

a. Gender: Gout is more common in men than women.Men can develop Gout in early age whereas women usually develop Gout after menopause.

b. Family history: Gout is commonly hereditary. So if you have a family member has Gout, your chances of developing Gout are more.

c. Obesity: Obese persons produce more uric acid,hence their kidneys have to work more in eliminating this. So the risk of developing Gout directly goes up.

d. Lifestyle: Eating  foods like seafood, meats, fruit sugar drinks, and most importantly alcohol(beer especially)on a regular basis increases the risk of Gout considerably.

e. Other health conditions: High B.P.,high lipids, diabetes, kidney diseases etc increase the risk for Gout.

4.COMPLICATIONS of Gout: Gout if not treated properly can cause many serious health problems. These complications can prove to be very painful, hard to treat and have the ability to severely impair the quality of life. Let us see the many complications of Gout.

a. Joint damage/deformity: Chronic gout causes swelling,inflammation and tophi in joints due to progressive bone and cartilage erosion. This ultimately leads to severe damage,deformity and destruction in the joints. Severe functional impairment occurs in such joints.In the worst cases,the joint may require surgery to repair the damage.Nowadays Joint Replacement is being performed in extreme cases. Ayurved can definitely help in avoiding such serious joint damage.

b. Tophi: Tophi are clumps of urate crystals. They are frequently formed in chronic Gout. They are known to damage joints, bone and cartilage.

c. Kidney stone: Some patients of Gout develop urate stones in their kidneys. These stones can cause Kidney damage if left intreated.Ayurved has excellent medicinal treatment for all types of stones.

d. Kidney disease/failure: This is the most serious complication that Gout can cause. Many factors are involved in this development. Ayurved has always emphasized on the PREVENTIVE aspect in all diseases. Ayurved can definitely prevent severe Kidney damage resulting from Gout.

e. Other diseases: Patients with Gout are known to have an increased risk for developing Diabetes, Hypertension, cardiovascular diseases etc. and thus an increased risk for death.

Thus we can see that Gout is a very serious disease which can lead to immature death from all such complications.Hence it is easily understood that proper timely treatment can save patients from such dreaded complications. Consult an Ayurvedic expert for that.

5.Prevention of Gout:

Ayurved has greatly emphasized the importance of diet and lifestyle changes to prevent the development , recurrence of Gout itself and also its complications.

a. Purine rich foods are best avoided, for e.g. seafood, redmeat, fructose rich drinks are not to be taken in excessive quantities

b. Alcohol  especially beer is known to increase the symptoms as well as trigger an attack of Gout. So the best thing is avoid alcohol completely or limit it.

c. Lose weight: Gradual weight loss has shown to reduce serum urate levels, hence obese patients  are advised to lose weight gradually. This definitely helps them a lot.

6.Ayurvedic Treatment of Gout:  The treatment of Gout can be classified in two parts:

a. Treatment of an acute attack: Ayurved has complete line of treatment even for the most severe of Gouty attacks. Specific medicines are administered for this as well as local oils for relieving the pain and shortening the duration of an attack. Most of such cases can be treated at the clinic level(without hospitalization)by an Ayurvedic  expert.

b. After the acute attack has subsided, comes the real part of treatment. The prevention of recurrent attacks is the most crucial thing in the longterm treatment of Gout. Ayurved can definitely prove to be far more beneficial in every aspect in PREVENTING the recurrence of Gouty attacks as well as the development of complications of Gout. Also  the patient may be saved from taking medicines lifelong through Ayurved.

Internal medicines are the mainstay of treatment, but the local application of oils to relieve pain and stiffness, etc. are also given. At amoghsanjeevani, we usually see patients with very Chronic Gout with marked joint destruction and complications of chronic gout such as tophi, kidney disease, etc. All such patients have to take modern medicines lifelong usually. Sooner or later they realize that these medicines have to be taken lifelong, in spite of that there is no good treatment for the joint damage, tophi, arthritis, etc. then they come to Ayurved. We really want everyone to know that Ayurved can easily prevent such longterm complications of Gout, also these complications can be treated very successfully via Ayurved. Also, the duration of treatment can be reduced and if the patient follows all guidelines, it may become possible to live a free life without medicines. Consult an Ayurvedic expert for that. We at amoghsanjeevani, are always available for the same.