In most of the cases of gout, it appears to embark on a journey from the lower body, up to the upper. It commonly starts in the big toes, sailing all through out the knees, and then the fingers. Occasionally, gout becomes an all-knowing, as it appears in all the joints at the same time. Therefore, it isn’t surprising if gout decides to appear in the elbow.
This article wishes to explain gout in the elbow. Furthermore, it also aims to explaining some tips to relieve the pain and the inflammation.
The Threatening Gout in the Elbow
In comparison to getting gout in the toes, knees, heels, the chances of acquiring gout in the elbow are very low. Maybe it’s as low as the chances of winning a lottery, however, it sees much fewer incidence. This is not really a coincidence.
If you get gout in the toes or heels, it isn’t really a guarantee that you’ll get gout in the fingers and the elbows. However, if you get gout in the fingers or/and elbows, it’s almost certain that at least once you’ll get gout attacks in the knees, toes, as well as some other joints in the lower extremities of the body.
The perfect breeding ground for gout has three main characteristics:
- Cold temperature
- High concentration of uric acid
- The existence of synovial fluids!
The colder the temperature, the faster the uric acid to become crystallized. The uric acid saturation point may drop if the temperature is low. Therefore, the longer it is exposed to the cold temperature, the more chances of crystallization. If you’re a sufferer of gout and hyperuricemia, your joints in the lower body that contains all those factors.
Every ball-and-socket joints in the body contain synovial fluids found in their own bursal sac. Additionally, the lower body has a lower temperature in comparison to the core. Therefore, the uric acid in the lower body is more exposed to the cold temperature the longest. This particular cold temperature may get worse as we defend our lower body against cold temperatures rarely, especially while sleeping.
Moreover, the cold temperature factor also explains why the tophi deposits in the earlobes. As the ear is very cold and has so small veins, which causes the slow circulation, the uric acid is bare to the cold for a long period of time, which is enough for it to crystalize. The same thing goes for the outer ear. This particular factor also elucidates why the gout attacks commonly happen at night.
Furthermore, the elbow has its own bursal sac hence making it a candidate for gout to happen. Nevertheless, it isn’t as cold as the toe or the heels or whatever joint in the lower part of the body. Therefore, it’s highly possible that you may get gout in the lower body before your elbow.
I Have Gout In The Elbow. What Now?
The pain may lure you to do some DIY gout surgery, but please do not. There are a lot of other ways that you can do. For beginners, you may try soaking the gouty elbow in a pail of warm water.
This will be beneficial in easing the pain, offer relaxing sensation and at the same time get rid of the uric acid crystal. You just need to soak it in warm water during not only gout attacks but also at least once a day.
Commonly, sufferers and the doctors similar recommend that you soak your gouty joint to a pail of cold water. Gloomily, this may do more harm than good. Al ways remember that, the low temperature is a no-no for gout.
You may also take medicines and the like stuff, however, I guarantee you they’ll not do any good in the long run.
