Can gout patients drink liquor? You need to know these taboos

Gout is a rheumatic disease. Gout patients need to pay attention to many issues in their daily diet. Gout patients cannot drink alcohol or eat seafood. The cause of gout is related to high purine, so drinking alcohol will aggravate the symptoms of gout.

Gout is caused by a metabolic disorder of a substance called purine. "Successful people" have great work pressure and many social engagements; they like to eat delicious food and drink, and often eat seafood, fish and meat. They often drink until late at night. It is this bad living habit and dietary structure that leads to the onset of gout.

Misconception 1: Drinking beer can easily cause gout, but drinking liquor is fine. In fact, whether it is liquor or beer, the main ingredient is ethanol, the only difference is the amount of ethanol. Ethanol delays the excretion of uric acid, causing uric acid accumulation and inducing gout.

Misconception 2: Uric acid will definitely increase during a gout attack. About 30% of gout patients have blood uric acid levels within the normal range. Even if uric acid levels are within the normal range during a gout attack, it should be treated as a gout attack. Making the right judgment requires a certain amount of clinical experience. Similarly, if people with high uric acid levels in their blood have joint pain, it does not necessarily mean they have gout.

Misconception 3: Use uric acid-lowering drugs immediately when gout attacks. When gout attacks, using uric acid-lowering drugs will rapidly reduce blood uric acid levels, resulting in a large difference in uric acid levels inside and outside the joints, which will aggravate arthritis. The correct approach is to provide general treatment in the acute phase, such as bed rest, elevation of the affected limb, local cold compress, drinking plenty of water, application of colchicine and indomethacin or ibuprofen, etc. During the intervals between gout attacks, uric acid-lowering drugs should be used systematically.

Myth 4: Gout stones can be removed by taking medicine. Gout stones cannot be dissolved. The key is to control the onset of gout and prevent tophi from continuing to grow. If they are large enough to affect joint function, they can only be removed surgically. For recurrent, stubbornly swollen and painful tophi, minimally invasive cleaning and irrigation under acupuncture can be used to more thoroughly remove urate crystals in the joints and their surrounding areas, reducing or preventing the recurrence of gout.

Alcohol itself is an important pathogenic factor of gout. If you drink liquor frequently after becoming ill, it can easily aggravate the patient's condition. It is recommended that patients do not drink liquor. In addition, because gout is quite difficult to treat, patients are advised to have a systematic understanding of daily precautions, do a good job of health care, and avoid situations that worsen the condition.