We live in a society today, where food comes fast and easy. We eat whatever we fancy. We salivate whenever we smell food, even though it is just ikan masin goreng. We eat all the time, regardless of whether we are full or not. We eat whenever food is offered, even at the workplace and at social family gatherings or at our friends' homes. Food is everywhere. How much food can we really consume? Quite a lot.
What happens when we eat a lot of food? We add on flesh and fat to our bones. We tend to eat lots of protein - beef, lamb, chicken and fish. We can't do without protein.
What happens when we eat lots of animal protein? Protein comes from cells. Cells contain nuclei. Nuclei are a source of purines and pyrimidines. Breakdown of cells means breakdown of purines. Purines breakdown to give uric acid. We tend to get a lot of uric acid made in our body. Where does this uric acid go?
Uric acid is soluble in water, and thus, it is soluble in blood. It travels in the blood to the kidney where it is removed in urine. The more we drink water, the easier it is to remove uric acid from the body, and prevent it from building up in the body.
If we don't drink sufficient water, then uric acid can't be removed easily via urine. It stays in the body and gets deposited in our joints - hands, knees and feet.
What happens next? If too much uric acid gets deposited in the tissues, it can begin to crystallize. That means it can form crystals.
What do uric acid crystals look like? Sharp long spindles. What can these uric acid crystals do? They can start to poke the surrounding tissues, causing pain and inflammation.
When do we start to feel pain due to uric acid crystals in our joints? At about age 40 to 50 years. But it can be earlier in some people and later in others.
What is this condition called? It is known as gout. Some people spell it as gaut - just as they would pronounce it.
What is gout? It is a terrible condition which gives excruciating pain in the joints. The sufferers can't kneel or perform Muslim prayers as they cannot bend their knees to do sujud or sit in between sujud. They can't bend their knees. They can't get up easily from sitting position. Life is full of pain in the joints. They can't walk far or go travelling.
What medication can gout sufferers seek? A quick visit to the local shop is all they need to do for a start. There are many local preparations that claim to help ease gouty pain in the knees, knuckles and toes.
A better thing to do is to go to hospital and see a good doctor who really cares. Doctors start treating gout when the uric acid level is very high, when it exceeds 600 uM or 600 µmol/L. High levels of uric acid in the blood is referred to as hyperuricemia.
Is hyperuricemia, gout and joint pain treatable? Yes, but it will take a long time to remove all the uric acid crystals from the tissues if the sufferer does not drink plenty of plain water. Plain water does a good job in removing uric acid from the joints, and alleviates pain. Taking medications will then expedite uric acid removal and the joint pain disappears.
The drug Allopurinol maybe prescribed to reduce blood uric acid levels. However, not everybody wants to go to see a doctor for a medicine to treat their gout problem. Many still prefer traditional preparations. One such prep is sold locally, but has recently been banned by the health authority in Malaysia.
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| This particular traditional prep (pic above) is meant for gout, and contains the controlled drug, dexamethasone. Free and long-term use of dexamethasone is dangerous to health. |
What is dexamethasone? It is a corticosteroid. It relieves inflammation, but at the same time, reduces the body's defense system. Not everyone can tolerate dexamethasone, and for long-term use. Some experience weight gain and sleep disturbance. They can begin to develop some other conditions, including hirsutism (hairy) and Cushing's Syndrome (moon face and with a mound on the cape). So it is best not to take any gout medication until you have seen a doctor at the nearest hospital near you.
Dexamethasone is used to treat arthritis, skin, eye and kidney disease, asthma and some cancers.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-1027-5021/dexamethasone-oral/dexamethasone-oral/details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uric_acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uric_acid
