Home Remedies for Gout Overview
Home remedies for gout can be very effective in relieving the pain, discomfort, and recurrence of gout and its symptoms. If you are a person who suffers from gout, then you know how debilitating gout can be at times. The symptoms and flare-ups of gout can keep you from living a normal and active life. Many people often have trouble sleeping at night because the severe pain keeps them up. Gout is not curable, but there are home remedies for gout that can help to relieve the pain and symptoms and prevent future flare-ups.
Symptoms of Gout
If you have been diagnosed with gout, then you know all too well what gout is and what its symptoms are. However, if you have not been diagnosed with gout, but you think the pain you are experiencing is because of gout, knowing what symptoms to look for may help you in deciding if it’s possible that you may be suffering from gout. If you haven’t been diagnosed with gout, you should see your doctor to obtain a diagnosis, and then you can begin using the home remedies for gout to decrease the symptoms.
Gout is a type of arthritis that is caused by too much uric acid being deposited into your body. In a person with normal levels of uric acid, the uric acid is pushed to the kidneys where your body naturally disposes of it. However, if you have too much uric acid in your body, instead of the uric acid crystals going to the kidneys, they instead attach to your joints and cause your joints to appear swollen and become painful. This is what causes gout.
One of the most common symptoms of gout is swelling. The swelling most often occurs in the joints of your feet, knees, wrists, elbows, and hands. You will also likely experience a lot of pain in your joints, and sometimes the pain can be extreme enough to wake you from sleep in the middle of the night and keep you from doing normal, everyday activities.
Home Remedies for Gout
There are many home remedies for gout that have worked effectively in relieving the pain and inflammation of gout while also helping to prevent future flare-ups of gout.
- Strawberries and cherries are often used as home remedies for gout. They have the ability to cut down on the amount uric acid in your body due to the nutrients and vitamins contained within the fruits such as vitamin C, iron, calcium, and potassium. So if you consume strawberries and cherries on a regular basis, they will help to decrease the symptoms of gout.
- Epsom salts are among the many effective home remedies for gout. You can soak in Epsom salt baths two or three times a week to help relieve the discomfort and inflammation caused by gout.
- Drinking plenty of water and other fluids during the day is also among the effective home remedies for gout. Drinking a lot of fluids will help to flush the uric acid crystals from your body and keep you from developing kidney stones as well as providing relief from daily gout occurrences.
Some people have also found relief from the pain and inflammation caused by gout by drinking the juices contained in French beans. It sounds strange, but drinking a cup of juice from French beans every day for at least a month will make a noticeable difference in the amount of pain and inflammation that you will experience during your gout flare-ups.
Another of the helpful home remedies for gout worth mentioning is to soak a piece of flannel material in warmed castor oil and set the material on the areas of your body that are swollen and painful. Use a piece of plastic to wrap around the material to hold it in place and apply a heating pad to the area.
One of the best home gout treatment options is to combine one cup of water with one cup of vinegar, add a teaspoon of pepper to it and bring it to a boil. When the mixture has come to a boil, let it cool for a minute and then apply the mixture to the affected joints and leave it there for at least 2 hours.
Other Ways to Prevent Gout Flare-ups
Besides using helpful home remedies for gout flare-ups, there are also other things you can do to not only keep your gout flare-ups from recurring, but will also allow you to live a healthier life.
Maintain a healthy weight for your height and body type. By staying within a healthy weight range, you will be ensuring that your digestive system remains working properly as well as making sure that waste products are removed from your body the way they’re supposed to be. If you are overweight, it’s important that you bring your weight down to a more normal range by eating healthier and exercising regularly.
If you smoke or drink alcohol, now is the time to quit. Smoking cigarettes or cigars and drinking alcohol can speed up the symptoms of gout. If you are a binge drinker, it is even more detrimental that you stop drinking alcohol. The more you drink, the worse your gout symptoms and flare-ups are going to get.
A problem that many people who suffer from gout face is becoming stiff and sore when they have been sitting or lying in one position for too long. To cut down on the pain and stiffness, you need to remain active. If you are sitting or lying down for too long, get up and stretch periodically to loosen the joints.
Gout Home Treatment in Conclusion
If your doctor has prescribed medications for you to take to help with the pain and inflammation from gout, be sure you are taking the medications as prescribed. It is also wise to discuss with your doctor any home remedies for gout that you are planning on trying out to ensure that there won’t be any types of problems or side-effects from the medications you may be taking.
Between using home remedies for gout, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and taking any medications that have been prescribed to you by your doctor, you can be successful at ensuring that your symptoms of gout will lessen considerably, and you may even be able to prevent the flare-ups from occurring so often.