Ayurvedic remedies for Gout

Gout is a painful auto immune, inflammatory condition which affects the joints. Clinically,
presence of uric acid crystals in joints causes inflammation of the joints.
During metabolism, uric acid and its components are formed. In gout, due to higher levels
of uric acid in the blood it leads to the formation of microscopic crystals which is stored in
the joints. This process slowly leads to inflammation of joints which again leads to pain,
fever and stiffness.
Causes for increased uric acid level in the blood and gout
a. Heredity
b. Obesity
c. Sedentary lifestyle and a lack of walking
d. Lack of proper exercises
e. Consumption of fatty foods and animal protein
f. Eating foods that cause burning during digestion
g. Consumption of incompatible foods
h. Not having sufficient sleep
i. Exposure to cold weather
j. High alcohol intake
k. High intake of food like liver, kidneys, sweetbreads ,tongue, red meat, Shellfish, fish peas,
lentils and beans. These foods contain purines.
l. A few drugs used to treat high blood pressure.
m. Some of the conditions that can lead to the disorder are:
1. Surgery or injury
2. Stress
3. Reaction to alcohol and drugs including prescription medicines.
4. kidney disorders
5. Enzyme deficiencies
6. Lead poisoning
7. Psoriasis
8. Anaemia
9. A condition known as pseudo gout or false gout is similar to gout but less painful and is
caused by calcium crystals in the joints. It generally afflicts people age 60 and up.


Signs and symptoms
The characteristic feature of this disease is the involvement of the big toe in the beginning
which becomes acutely painful and swollen. Gradually, other joints are involved and the
patient experiences difficulty in walking and sometimes even moving.
Symptoms include:
a. Inflammation
b. Swelling
c. Tenderness in the affected joint
d. Touching or moving the joint is extremely painful
e. Unbearable pain (as if cutting the joint)
f. Burning sensation
Ayurveda tips to prevent gout
1. Consume wheat, green gram, raisins, ginger and milk
2. Avoid horse raiding, or other sports which involves lot of joint movements.
3. Avoid afternoon sleep, roaming in hot sun,
4. Do not consume alcohol, fish, urad dhal, horse gram, curds, radish
Ayurveda treatment for gout
Ayurvedic treatments for gout vary depending on the condition of the patient and the severity
of the disease. Ayurvedic treatments for gout consist of Pancha karma, oral medicines and
diet regulations. Snehanam-(oilation), virechanam- (purgation), abhyanga-
(massage), pradeha, pralepa-(medicated packs) and basthi-(enema) are the suggested
treatments for gout
Abhyanga (oil massage)
It increases the metabolism, which leads to better tissue respiration and circulation, causing
the body to flush out its waste products more efficiently. It helps in alleviating rheumatic
disorders. It provides comfort to the eyes, sound sleep, and tones up
the body, improves flexibility, softness and firmness of the skin and for long life. It is the
most ancient method used to remove muscular fatigue and pain.
Pizhichil (oil bath)
In pizhichil, lukewarm medicated herbal oil is poured all over the body. This treatment is
very effective in rheumatic diseases like arthritis, paralysis, spondlitis, hemiplegia, Gout,
nervous weakness and nervous disorders. This treatment is prescribed not only for
rheumatic ailments (vatic disorders) but also for many other diseases like diabetes, blood
pressure, fits, convulsions etc.
Home remedies for gout
a. Apples are good for gout
b. 3 ml of lemon juice mixed in 100 ml of water, thrice daily helps the kidney to detoxify
c. 30 ml French bean juice said to be effective in gout. It has to be taken for at least 30 days
as one course
d. Cherries play a vital role in improving the anti oxidants in the system. Some naturopaths
recommend 10 fresh cherries a day to keep the gout in control.
e. Carrot juice mixed with the juices of beet and cucumber acts as diuretic hence it is
recommended for gout.
f. A charcoal bath is a good home remedy for gout. Mix in old basin one half cup of charcoal
powder with water until a paste is made. Place affected foot into the basin and add water until
the foot is enclosed. Steep your foot in the charcoal bath for thirty to sixty minutes.
This is a painful metabolic disease resulting in the inflammation and chalky deposit in the
joints due to disturbance of purine metabolism in the body. In ayurveda, this is known as
vatarakta.
Treatment
Since the disease is caused by vata, to correct it in the beginning, Pancatikta Ghrita is given
to the
patient in a dose of two teaspoonfuls twice daily on empty stomach mixed with warm water.
This should
be continued for about 15 days. For external application, guducyadi taila is to be given. The
important
ingredient of this medicated oil is guduchi(Tinospora cordifolia).
Kaisore guggulu is the drug of choice for the treatment of this condition. It is given in a dose
of two
tablets three times a day (6 tablets per day). This should be followed by two ounce of
decoction of
manjistha (Rubia cordifolia). Bowels of the patient should be kept clear and if required
powder of
haritaki (Terminalia chebula) should be given to the patient in a dose of two teaspoonfuls at
bed time
with warm water.
The root bark of asvattha tree (Ficus religiosa) is useful in this condition. In a decoction form
it is given in
a dose of two ounces daily.
Diet
Freshly harvested rice and wheat should not be given to the patient. Old rice, wheat, mung
dal, meat
soup, garlic, onion, bitter gourd, papaya and green banana can be taken by the patient. Curd,
any other
form of sour food, heavy food and fried things are prohibited.
Other regimens
The patient should not perform any violent exercise. He should not sit idle either. Exposure to
cols wind
and rain and cold bath are strictly contraindicated.
Source: Dr K Gowthaman, Medical Director, rVita (rVita Ayurveda Centers)
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gout (vata raktha)
Gout is a kind of arthritis, characterized by sudden, severe attacks of burning pain, redness and
tenderness in joints, often the joint at the base of the big toe. These attacks can happen over and
over unless gout is treated. Over time, they can harm your joints, tendons, and other tissues. It is
caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. The uric acid crystallizes, and the crystals deposit
in joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues.

Gout can affect anyone. Men are more likely to get gout, but women become increasingly
susceptible to gout after menopause.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of gout are almost always acute, occurring suddenly often at night
and without warning. They include:

Intense joint pain - Gout usually affects the large joint of your big toe, but it can occur in your feet,
ankles, knees, hands and wrists. The pain is likely to be most severe within the first 12 to 24 hours
after it begins.
Lingering discomfort - After the most severe pain subsides, some joint discomfort may last from a
few days to a few weeks. Later attacks are likely to last longer and affect more joints.
Inflammation and redness -The affected joint or joints become swollen, tender and red.

Most patients with gout will experience repeated attacks of arthritis over the years.

Uric acid crystals can deposit in tiny fluid-filled sacs (bursae) around the joints. These urate crystals
can incite inflammation in the bursae, leading to pain and swelling around the joints (a condition
called bursitis).

In chronic gout, nodular masses of uric acid crystals (tophi) deposit in different soft-tissue areas of
the body. Even though they are most commonly found as hard nodules around the fingers, at the
tips of the elbows, in the ears, and around the big toe, tophi nodules can appear anywhere in the
body. They have been reported in unexpected areas such as in the vocal cords or (rarely) even
around the spinal cord.

Causes

Hyperuricemia is the underlying cause of gout. This can occur for a number of reasons, including
diet, genetic predisposition, or underexcretion of urate, the salts of uric acid.

Normally, uric acid dissolves in your blood and passes through your kidneys into your urine. Renal
underexcretion of uric acid is the primary cause of hyperuricemia in about 90% of cases, while
overproduction is the cause in less than 10%.

In addition to an inherited abnormality in handling uric acid, other risk factors for developing gout
include obesity, excessive weight gain (especially in youth), moderate to heavy alcohol intake, high
blood pressure, abnormal kidney function and eating too much meat and fish that are high in
chemicals called purines. Some medicines, such as diuretics, can also bring on gout.

In patients at risk of developing gout, certain conditions can precipitate acute attacks of gout. These
conditions include dehydration, injury to the joint, fever, excessive eating and recent surgery.

Diagnosis

The most reliable test for gout is finding uric acid crystals in a sample of the joint fluid obtained by
joint aspiration.

Blood uria is the commonest blood test to estimate the level of Uric acid. Other blood tests
commonly performed are white blood cell count, electrolytes, renal function, and erythrocyte
sedimentation rate (ESR).

X-rays can sometimes be helpful and may show tophi-crystal deposits and bone damage as a result
of repeated bouts of inflammation.

Ayurveda Management

Vata Rakta or Aadya Vata is a classical description of Gout in Ayurveda. Vata dosha, Pitta dosha and
Rakta Dhatu are specially vitiated to cause Vatarakta.

Several causes are listed in Ayurveda, which causes Vatarakta are excessive intake of Lavana (salty),
Amla (Sour), Katu (pungent), Tikta (bitter), Kshara (alkaline), Snigdha (Too oily), and Ushna (Too hot)
foods, eating dried & preserved or spoiled fish/meat, Ulavalu (Horsegram), Blackgram, Nishpava
(anumulu, a bean variety), sour curd or buttermilk, incompatible foods like fish with milk products,
drinking alcohol, daytime sleep, staying awake in the night, anger etc.

Based on the seat of the disease, Vatarakta is classified into 2 types.
Uttana (superficial) - This is located in the twak (skin) & mamsa (muscle).
Gambhir (deep) - This is located in the deeper dhatus and more severe in nature. Tophi or nodule
formation occurs.

At CHARAKA, our treatment includes Ayurveda Panchakarma therapy along with internal medicines,
diet & lifestyle modifications. Therapies like Snehapanam, Virechanam, Abhyanga swedam, Elakkizhi,
Pizhichil, Vasti, Navarakizhi etc are very useful in treating or even curing Vatarakta.

In very severe cases, even Rakthamokshana therapy is also practiced for quicker and long lasting
relief.



Gout:

Gout is a form of arthritis
It is also known as toe or feet disease
The condition usually affects the toe, knee or wrist joints
More than one joint can be affected at one time

Symptoms to look for:

Sudden bouts of unbearable pain
Inflammation, tenderness in the joints
Gout attacks usually occur at midnight or early in morning
Affected joint becomes hot and swollen and is very sensitive to touch
Pain and swelling generally goes away after 1-2 weeks
The pain reoccurs after sometime in the same or some other joint

Causes:

High level of uric acid in the body
Excessive alcohol intake
Stress
Lack of exercise
Skipping meals
Dehydration
High aspirin intake
Menopause

Natural home remedy using mustard oil and camphor:

1. Take 1 cup of mustard oil
2. Add 10 gm of camphor
3. Heat till camphor dissolves completely
4. Massage the affected area with lukewarm oil

Natural home remedy using apples:

1. Eat 1 apple after every meal
2. Apples have malic acid, which neutralises uric acid

Natural home remedy using lime:

1. Add the juice of half a lime to 1 glass of water
2. Drink 2 times a day
3. Citric acid in lime dissolves uric acid

Natural home remedy using ice:

1. Wrap ice cubes in cloth
2. Place on the affected area
3. This provides only temporary pain relief

Tips:

Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day. It washes out the uric acid deposits
Have 15-20 cherries every day
Anti-oxidants in cherries help relieve inflammation
It reduces the frequency of gout flare-ups

These remedies are based on the principles of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of healing, and are
completely natural, non-invasive, and can be prepared at home. Consult your doctor if the symptoms
persist. Refer to the terms of use.