What Is The Relationship Between Gout, Uric Acid, And Acidosis?

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There is a great relationship between gout and uric acid. These two is inseparable but there is another thing that is associated with these two, acidosis.

This article is intended to explain uric acid, gout, and its linkage to acidosis.

Facts about Uric Acid and Gout

Uric acid is the main reason for the growth of gout. The excess uric acid which finds its way to form a crystal in the joint/s is the root of all the suffering experienced by individuals with gout. Uric acid crystals result in inflammation, pain, fever, chills, numbness, tingling, and you can add more misery here.

On the other hand, a cure for gout such as purine exists. Yes, it is, and the source of this chemical can be found all around us. Every living organism contains purine and that’s a great news. Purine is also vital in the composition of DNA, it is one of its important elements. However, the body does not store a lot of purine due to the fact that our body does not require an infinite supply of this element. Instead, excess purine is excreted by breaking it down into uric acid. Uric acid is then flushed out by the kidney. However, our kidney can only excrete a limited amount of uric acid. Thus, uric acid accumulates in the body. Some uric acid finds their way to the normally clean synovial fluids of the synovial joints. There, they will crystallize as they reach the saturation point. This is the reason why foreign bodies will then alarm the immune system. More so, incessant pain signals will be sent to the brain as a result of the neutrophil defeat.

The neutrophil is a kind of white blood cells which is not designed for dissolving crystalized uric acid. Furthermore, neutrophils will then retreat and send a message to the brain as a sign of its defeat. Inflammation and great pain will be the result of this phenomenon.

Things You Don’t Know About Gout and Uric Acid

Are you still curious why uric acid accumulates in the joints? If yes, then we will feed you more information about the accumulation of uric acid in the joints.  It is always normal for our kidneys to flush uric acid out from our bodies without any problem encountered. The kidneys, with a glomerular filtration rate of around 90 to 140 mL/min, are supposed to be strong enough to flush all those uric acid out. Yet, gout happens isn’t it? The reason is that there are some instances that the body make its own move to help the kidney to flush out uric acid just to maintain a good level of uric acid in the blood. But, this remedy is not as good as it sounds. The uric acid just takes a detour and as a result, a crystallized uric acid in the joints forms. Take note that the ratio of the solute to the solvent (uric acid to the synovial fluids) must be very high for it to crystallize. In fact, uric acid even ends up in wrong places underneath the skin forming tophaceous deposits. For instance, in the earlobes!

Acidosis is a condition that makes uric acid, and gout worse. How? Acidosis is an excessive rise of acid levels in our body fluids. How can acidosis form? This question is answered below.

The first one can be caused by external factors such as diet, Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome or Tumor lysis syndrome. The latter can be caused by various things. Acidosis comes in the second explanation.

The low uric acid output is caused either by acidosis or weakened kidney. A weakened or damaged kidney has a low GFR, hence lower uric acid excretion. This is far worsened when there are other tasks at hand. For instance, if there is too much acid to excrete.

In most cases, acids are really considered harmful to the body. A good example will be oxalic acid from many salty foods we eat. Oxalic acid can contribute to the formation of kidney stones. Another example lactic acid which is produced by cells when switching to an anaerobic form of metabolism.

The buildup of lactic acid in the muscles can result in pain. With such capability to do harm, the body has to expel all those acids out. As a result, uric acid will be stored and piled up in the body due to a long line of other acids to be excreted. Some uric acid is reabsorbed and retained in the bloodstream as other acids are excreted. The more acids, the more chances of gout! This is how acidosis ignites high uric acid and gout.

1 COMMENT

  1. Good article!
    Does potassium citrate help gout symptoms? When I take it, my tinnitus gets much worse. Baking soda has too much sodium to take daily to keep gout away.
    Thanks.

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