Those who are suffering from gout has long been in pain by all the stereotyping that other people do. Commonly, the condition is considered as the diseases of the kings. This is mainly because the ancestors who have long suffered from the condition are all in the upper class of the society. In fact, the rich and the royal people who had the chance to pamper themselves to the desire that is being offered by life. The more if they will get categorized that the gout is a contagious illness, which may wreak havoc?
The upfront answer to the question, “Is gout contagious?” is NO. Gout isn’t contagious. Read on to this article and get to know the reasons why it isn’t contagious.
Gout: Why is it not contagious?
Firstly, the condition of gout is not being caused by not either bacteria or virus. Therefore, there is no way that it will pass on that particular exasperating and painful lump in the joints.
Rather than being triggered by the external forces, the gout is caused by various problems in the metabolic pathways. Especially, it is caused by the excessive levels of uric acid. If there is enough amount of uric acid that patrols into the bloodstream, the chances of the uric acid to be randomly deposited into the joints is way higher.
Furthermore, once that enough uric acid has been deposited, it will crystallize. This particular uric acid crystal is actually the root cause of the sufferings. When the uric acid crystallizes, it will be detected by the body as one foreign object hence releasing a bunch of autoimmune responses like inflammation, pain, as well as fever.
Usually, the body may flush out all the uric acid. However, there is a metabolic disruption, just like the Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, wherein the uric acid may accrue to a certain point wherein it can cause gout.
The gout isn’t contagious because it is caused by the metabolic turbulence. If you know someone that has a family being affected by the condition, it doesn’t mean that the condition is contagious or hereditary in that case. The main reason for this is actually the lifestyle. What we mean about the lifestyle is the stress and the pleasure level, as well as the eating habits. Most probably, the family shares the same lifestyle. If yes, then the chances are, you will suffer from the very same condition as them.
The same goes for your friends if all of you have the same habits. There are also some cases that the condition is being passed on, the same as some genetic defects being passed, just like Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome.
What to do with gout?
If you are a gout sufferer, what you need to do now is to change your own lifestyle. One good start is changing the diet and then going and getting a good gout meal plan. You should also avoid the foods that are rich in purine. The purine, as you may have known, is broken down into uric acid. Remember, however, the diet is just 13% of the problem in totality. There are actually a lot of some other reasons for gout to happen. The best thing that you can do is to try and get rid of the acidosis. There is a high chance that most of us in this modern day and age are suffering from acidosis.
Acidosis is the body’s condition of having too much acid. This can be so bad for the health. if there is too much acid in the body, all of the waste products will fall in a long queue. Therefore, the rate of excretion of the uric acid will be slowed down, thus boosting the possibility of gout attacks. Additionally, acidosis may cause a lot more illnesses like type 2 diabetes, gout, and even cancer.
Conclusion
Gout is not contagious –that is for a certain. It is just caused by the metabolic disorder and there is no way that it may be passed on to other people. But still, there are factors, like diet and the lifestyle, which may contribute to the gout formation. If you have the same lifestyle as those who are around you, the chances are high that you will also acquire the condition.
