Specialist Doctor II Duong Minh Tri, Deputy Head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Respiratory - Musculoskeletal, Gia Dinh People's Hospital (HCMC), said that the rate of gout in young people has increased by 15% - 20% compared to before. The reason is due to adequate dietary conditions leading to increased protein intake (eating a lot of meat; drinking alcohol, beer...) but little exercise causing uric acid in the blood to increase leading to gout.
Doctor examines gout patient at Gia Dinh People's Hospital (HCMC)
Mistakes of young people when suffering from gout
According to Dr. Duong Minh Tri, Gia Dinh People's Hospital currently receives and treats about 10-15 young people with gout every day. Patients are hospitalized with different levels - from new onset to recurrent pain. "The rate of young people who do not comply with gout treatment at the hospital is 30%-40%. Many patients are hospitalized when acute pain attacks recur repeatedly. The reason is that after an acute pain attack, they only need to take medicine for 2 days, so they think they are cured even though the doctor has previously warned that this is a disease that requires lifelong treatment. Only when the pain recurs repeatedly, do patients clearly realize their condition," Dr. Tri informed.
Typically, Gia Dinh People's Hospital once received and treated patient TVH (34 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) who came in for examination with pain and swollen knee joints. Before that, this patient attended a party. After waking up one night, he had joint pain so he was hospitalized for treatment.
After examining and performing tests, the doctors found that the patient had arthritis; high uric acid levels in the blood of 650 mmol/liter (normally 210-450 mmol/liter in men and 150-360 mmol/liter in women)... The patient was forced to be hospitalized for treatment and medication. The doctor treated him according to the medication regimen; and advised the patient to eat and exercise properly. However, after a period of discharge from the hospital, Mr. H. suffered from acute pain attacks again.
Although the doctor advised him to limit alcohol consumption and adjust his diet to include more vegetables and less red meat and seafood, Mr. H. said that due to the nature of his work, after abstaining for a few months, thinking that his illness was stable, he ignored the diet as advised by the doctor. It was only after 2 hospitalizations and 2 outpatient treatments that Mr. H. realized his illness and started taking medication regularly. Now, after 3 months, the patient's uric acid level has stabilized and his joint pain has decreased.
Mr. H's case is not uncommon. Thong Nhat Hospital (HCMC) has just received and treated a patient named TTM (28 years old) with a knee infection, who was admitted in a state of panic.
According to his family, Mr. M. was previously diagnosed with chronic gout. Initially, the patient took Western medicine, but his body was hot and painful, so he switched to taking medicine from a traditional healer. As a result, the pain was quickly relieved and he could eat and sleep, so Mr. M. followed the traditional healer for a long time. Recently, Mr. M.'s knee joint became severely infected and he had to be hospitalized. He was treated for the infection and had to have necrotic tissue removed.
MSc. Ha Thi Kim Chi, Department of Internal Medicine and Musculoskeletal System, Thong Nhat Hospital, said that in the past, gout was common in middle-aged men. Currently, many gout patients are younger. The hospital regularly receives young people with severe gout and many complications.
Complications of tophi in the joints of the feet of gout patients
It is necessary to comply with treatment as directed by your doctor.
Doctor Ha Thi Kim Chi emphasized that self-medication with painkillers and drugs of unknown origin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, osteoporosis, bone fractures, diabetes, and myocardial infarction. In cases where tophi (tumors) rupture, bacteria can enter the wound, causing septic arthritis and blood infection, with a very high risk of death. Complications of gout also reduce the patient's motor function, affecting their psychology and quality of life.
According to Dr. Chi, there are many causes of gout. The main reason is a disorder of purine metabolism that increases uric acid in the blood, causing urate crystals to deposit in the joints. A diet high in offal, seafood, red meat, beer, alcohol, etc. also makes the condition worse, especially in young people.
The disease starts with acute arthritis with symptoms of sudden swelling, heat, redness, and pain in the joints of the legs, especially the big toe joint... If not controlled, the disease progresses to become chronic and can cause joint stiffness in the long term.
Doctor Duong Minh Tri said that joint disease can cause complications with tophi in the joints or infected ulcers. These cases require hospitalization when examined. Notably, a very serious silent complication of the joints is kidney failure when the uric acid index is over 500 mmol/l for a long time. The rate of this complication accounts for 25%-30% of patients.
To recognize the disease, Dr. Tri pointed out that after a party, when waking up in the morning, the patient will feel joint pain or mild pain in the toes and feet. In addition, the pain is not typical like in the knee, elbow... These pains then often become severe, forcing the patient to go to the hospital for examination and treatment.
Doctors recommend that gout patients should see a doctor and take medication as prescribed; consult with a doctor before using new medications or functional foods. In addition, patients must strictly follow a diet, nutrition, and exercise regimen to help stabilize gout.
Abstaining from red meat - a challenge for young people
According to Dr. Duong Minh Tri, adjusting the diet of young people is very difficult to follow. In principle, people with gout must abstain from red meat 100%. However, not everyone can do it - especially young people because of the nature of their work, lifestyle...
"Adherence to a diet is often better for older people than for younger people. Therefore, if the patient cannot avoid it, they should eat as little as possible. In particular, they should exercise for 20-30 minutes/day to help the body metabolize better. In addition, the patient can switch to eating white meat in moderation or eat more vegetables, tubers, and fruits to avoid high uric acid levels," Dr. Tri emphasized.
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