Hyperuricemia is a condition in which the uric acid concentration in the blood increases above 6.0 mg/dL (for women) and 7.0 mg/dL (for men).
Uric acid is the result of the body's metabolism of purines - a common organic compound found in food. Increased uric acid levels are an alarming health problem, and can be an early warning sign of the risk of diseases related to bones, joints and the cardiovascular system.
Causes of increased uric acid
Hyperuricemia can occur when the body produces too much uric acid or when the kidneys are not effective at filtering and excreting this substance. Factors that can cause hyperuricemia include:
- Enzyme metabolism disorders lead to decreased ability to excrete uric acid through urine.
- Unbalanced diet, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, foods rich in protein such as red meat, seafood, etc.
- Gout and acute gout attacks.
- Decreased kidney function gradually reduces the ability to remove uric acid from the body.
Who is at risk for hyperuricemia?
Anyone can have high uric acid in the blood. The risk may increase in the following people:
- Alcohol abuse
- Maintain a diet rich in purines
- Excessive physical activity over a long period of time
- Family members have high blood uric acid or gout
- Suffer from diseases such as kidney disease, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, diabetes….
- Overweight, obesity
- Use of drugs to treat cardiovascular disease.
When uric acid in the blood increases, not everyone exhibits the same symptoms.
Warning symptoms of high uric acid
When uric acid levels in the blood are high, depending on the severity and duration of the disease, one or more of the following symptoms may appear:
- Joint discomfort: You may feel swelling, redness, and burning sensation in the joints when something touches them, or pain and difficulty moving the joints.
- Pain of unknown origin: In addition to joint pain, high uric acid levels can cause hip pain, lower back pain, lower abdominal pain, or groin pain.
- Abnormal urination: Includes signs such as frequent urination, cloudy urine and/or unusual odor.
- Skin discoloration: Skin is oilier than normal, has an unusual red or purple color.
- Arthritis: Is a condition in which uric acid precipitates into sodium urate crystals, adheres around the joints, stimulates the immune system to "attack" the synovial membrane, causing arthritis, forming gout. In the early stages, arthritis usually occurs in only one joint (usually the big toe joint). When it becomes severe, the disease can cause inflammation of many different joints in the body.
- Kidney stones: Excessive accumulation of uric acid in the blood can increase the concentration of urate (uric acid salt) in the urine, increasing the risk of urate precipitation, causing urate kidney stones.
In addition, when uric acid in the blood increases, the patient may have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever and chills.
Note: Not everyone with hyperuricemia will experience the same symptoms. In general, most people with high uric acid levels do not have any symptoms until they develop gout (which causes acute arthritis) or kidney stones (which cause urinary obstruction).
Doctor's advice
To prevent increased uric acid, it is necessary to create a diet based on the principle of limiting harmful foods (foods rich in purines, high in fructose, fast-absorbing starch, beer, alcohol, etc.); increase beneficial foods (foods rich in fiber, rich in vitamin C, etc.) and drink enough 1.5 - 2 liters of water per day.
Avoid obesity, maintain a healthy weight. Each person needs to build a scientific nutritional regimen combined with regular physical exercise (from 30 minutes/day, 3 times/week). Because the risk of increased uric acid in the blood in overweight - obese people is 2.1 times higher than in people with a healthy weight. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight and limiting obesity are important factors to help you prevent the risk of increased uric acid in the blood.
In addition, it is necessary to control related diseases well, especially high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, hypothyroidism... thereby preventing the risk of increased uric acid in the blood.
Regular health check-ups every 6 months are an opportunity to promptly detect and treat diseases related to hyperuricemia, thereby effectively controlling the disease.
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/ai-co-nguy-co-bi-tang-acid-uric-mau-172241017213748334.htm
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