Since most of the gout attacks are unexpected and painful, managing them can be real hard for you. Let's find out how you can successfully manage your gout attacks.

Take medicine immediately

If you already facing an attack, the best thing to do immediately is to take any over-the-counter medicine that you are taking for gout. Such over-the-counter medicines may be ibuprofen or naproxen. But you should not take aspirin because it may actually worsen the problem. If your doctor prescribed any medicine for you, you can take that medicine, when the attack comes. If your doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine, you can take it. If your doctor prescribed a uric acid lowering medicine and you are already taking it, you should continue taking the medicine. When the attack comes, you cannot prevent it immediately. Prevention will need some time and you will have to act before the attack comes.

Elevate your foot

If you are having a gout attack, you can elevate your foot with pillows. When you keep your foot at the position higher than your chest, it will reduce swelling. So, you can do that immediately to ensure reduction of inflammation and pain.

Ice down

Ice can help you to reduce the pain. Get a ice pack and apply it on the painful joint. The ice will reduce the inflammation and the pain. Wrap a ice pack in a dish cloth and apply that on the affected area. Keep it for 20 to 30 minutes. You may need to repeat this several times a day. If you don't have an ice pack, you can use a bag of crushed ice or even frozen peas to reduce inflammation and pain.

Drink lots of fluids

If you keep your body hydrated, it will eliminate uric acid from the body. Uric acid is the reason why you are having joint pain. Drinking more water and other fruits will help you to eliminate uric acid through urination. Drink 8 to 16 glasses of water and other fluids.

Avoid alcohol

If you are suffering from gout or you are about to have a gout attack, you should immediately stop drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol cannot help you to relax if you are in pain. You should avoid alcohol and you should specially avoid beer because it contains high amount of purines. When purine is metabolise, uric acid is created. And so you should avoid drinking alcohol if you are suffering from gout or you are about to have an attack. Alcohol also inhibits elimination of uric acid from your body.

Create gout friendly socks

You can create your own gout friendly socks so that they do not increase your pain and discomfort. You can cut the big toe out from your socks. You can also cut the toe section completely off. It will ensure that you are having a warm feet without any toe pain.

Call your doctor

You should call your doctor and let him/her know about it. Your doctor will be able to advise you on what to do to reduce the inflammation and pain. The doctor may prescribe a different medicine. He/she may also ask you to come for a joint fluid test so as to ensure whether it's gout or not. Corticosteroids can reduce inflammation quickly and if your doctor things it's necessary, such an injection may be offered to you.

Check your diet

There are some foods which can aggravate your gout problem. Foods with high purine content such as shellfish, sweetbreads, red meat and gravies can cause more inflammation and pain if you are suffering from gout. The best thing to do is to avoid these foods till when it is necessary.

References

1. Gout Natural Remedy Report
2. Gout
3. Gout