Gout affects a growing number worldwide with chronic inflammatory arthritis. Originally less common than it is now, the lifestyle of the modern world combined with the availability of foods that contribute to gout has led to more people having the disease.

If an individual has gout, this means that they typically suffer from chronic arthritis brought about by the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints. These crystals are formed within the body because of high levels of uric acid in the blood, which is in turn caused by several factors, which include genetic predisposition, food intake and lifestyle.

Arthritis attacks brought on by gout can vary in intensity, but is often chronic, lasting for days at a time. Without treatment, this can lead to constant pain, and eventually permanent damage that the body cannot recover from.

There are a number of ways to treat gout, though the most common method is to deal with the current arthritis attack. Pain relief is possible through the use of a variety of anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers; should the person with gout choose, there are also more natural methods and gout remedies that can relieve the pain and lessen inflammation.

Whichever specific gout remedy is used to deal with the gouty arthritis, the next step to treatment is to deal with the heightened levels of uric acid. Making sure the levels of uric acid are more normal is vital, in order to prevent future arthritic attacks. Even modern medicine recommends natural methods of doing this, through the use of diet and lifestyle modification to remove sources of uric acid, and encourage more efficient removal of excess uric acid in the blood.

In some cases conventional medicine may prescribe medication to allow the uric acid levels to go down sooner, though this method is only prescribed for more extreme cases. Aside from medication, there are also natural gout remedies that are able to help reduce the levels of uric acid in the blood. These can be used in conjunction with the previously mentioned changes to diet and lifestyle that are recommended to people with gout.

Those with gout may also choose to combine both conventional and alternative natural methods and gout remedies to manage their gout. Generally speaking, natural gout remedies are safe to be combined with conventional medications, though it is still best to get advice from your medical practitioner before doing so.

With proper use of different gout remedies, arthritic pain from gout can be alleviated and avoided.

Meredith Walker is an authority on the natural methods of treating arthritis and related join pains.

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