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Why Poor Kidney Health Can Be One of the Causes of Gout

One of the causes of gout that many people fail to consider is impaired kidney health. If you’re trying to manage kidney problems, you’re at a greater risk of hyperuricemia, and are therefore more prone to experiencing gout attacks. The reason for this is if the kidneys are not functioning at their best, they struggle to process and remove excess uric acid from the body, allowing it to build up in the bloodstream and ultimately crystallize in the joints.

The people most likely to suffer from gout as a result of a kidney disorder are those who have adult polycystic kidney disease, the most commonly inherited form of kidney disease. Symptoms include pain in the back, kidney area or lower sides, headaches, UTI’s and blood in the urine.

If you believe you might have any form of kidney disease it is important to see your doctor right away. You will also want to educate yourself as to the many ways in which your life will be affected and which treatments will best suit your needs. You will need to understand the relationship between your kidney disease and your gout in order to treat it properly.

Similarly, it seems that gout can also increase the risk of experiencing kidney stones. Between 10 and 40 percent of gout patients will experience kidney stones at any one time after they have developed hyperuricemia. Though the stones will typically be composed of uric acid, they may also include other materials too like calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, or additional substances combined with uric acid.

If you’re suffering from kidney stones you can probably expect to experience one or all of the following symptoms; acute pain in the lower back/side, groin or abdomen, nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine and sometimes fever or chills.

However, the good news is that there are steps you can take to improve the health of your kidneys, therefore avoiding the development or kidney stones, while minimizing the chances of a gout attack at the same time. For example, adopting healthy lifestyle choices in terms of exercise and diet will increase your resistance to all of these problems.

Uric acid build up can also cause more severe problems for the kidneys; chronic uric acid interstitial nephropathy (kidney damage) occurs when there is a build-up of uric acid crystals to the point that they block the exit of fluids from the kidney. However, when properly managed, this condition can be reversible in many cases. Also a sudden increase in excess uric acid can lead to full kidney failure, however this is very rare.

To keep kidney’s healthy and avoid gout flare ups treatment may include simple steps such as changing some of your dietary choices, but may also include more specific therapies like the use of vitamin C, which is becoming increasingly recognized for its abilities to lower uric acid levels in the body. It’s also important to make sure you drink sufficient amounts of water to keep your body well hydrated at all times as this helps to dilute uric acid levels and gives the kidney’s a helping hand in flushing out the unwanted uric acid.

The decision for the treatments you’ll be using will be directly related to the causes of gout that are influencing your attacks. Get to know your body so that you’ll be able to make informed decisions along with your doctor. Be sure to ask questions and educate yourself for the best possible treatment.

Dr Mammen M John, Nephrologist from Medical Trust Hospital, Ernakulam explains the various symptoms and treatments for chronic kidney disease or chronic renal failure in this edition of ‘Doctors Talk’.
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