Home Remedies For Gout

Caused by excessive uric acid deposits in the joints, gout is a painful type of arthritis that can lead to excessive pain, swelling and stiffness in the affected joints. Uric acid is formed by the purine breakdown in the body.

The kidneys then process the uric acid and pass it out of the body in the form of urine. However excess production of uric acid result in high concentration of uric acid in the blood and the formation of uric acid crystals around the joints and the surrounding tissues.

Gout usually affects the big toe joints apart from other body parts such as ankles, heels, wrists and elbows. A gout attack usually lasts for around six to ten days causing excruciating pain. Eating too much of high purine foods, alcohol, surgery, joint injuries and even stress can trigger off this problem

Apart from medications and regular exercises, gout can be treated by using simple home remedies. Since gout is caused by the intake of purine rich foods such as organ meat, red meat, mushrooms and seafood, these foods should be removed from the diet.

Instead the high protein and fats should be replaced by high carbohydrates and other healthy foods such as milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables and yogurt. Other high purine foods that should be avoided include cauliflower, radish, tomato, spinach and sorrel.

An effective home remedy for gout is cherries. You can eat them as fruits or consume cherry juice to dissolve the uric acid crystals and relive the joint pain. Safflower or dandelion pills mixed with honey can eliminate the toxic salts from the body and provide relief from joint pain.

Another way to cleanse your stomach and joints while providing relief from gout pain is by using potato water. Wash and boil potatoes with the skin on. Drink a glass of this potato water to cleanse the system of the harmful uric acid. Drinking lemon juice which is a rich source of Vitamin C or other fruit juices daily also helps in dissolving the uric acid crystals.

Soak the affected joint in ginger paste mixed with water to reduce the pain and severity of the gout attacks. While these home remedies can alleviate the pain for some time, it can by no means substitute medical supervision. Gout should be treated immediately by a qualified physician to avoid other problems like kidney stones, deformation of joints and high blood pressure.