“Gout is incurable” is a fact that is widely known by the people – gout is not a problem when it doesn’t happen, but when it hurts, it really kills, and it is not curable repeatedly, which makes people desperate. Despair about the disease is particularly likely to make people give up treatment. Before discussing whether gout can be cured, let’s take a look at some basic status and facts about gout in China. According to the literature: ① The average age of gout patients in China is 48.28 years old, 47.95 years old for men and 53.14 years old for women, with a male:female ratio of 15:1. ② The incidence of hyperuricemia in China is 13.3%, 21.6% for men and 8.6% for women. — We all know that the number of people with high uric acid is increasing, but this incidence rate is still believed to be more than many people’s imagination. The male prevalence rate of 21.6% means that 1 out of 5 men has hyperuricemia, and with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, there are about 150 million men with hyperuricemia in China based on a male to female ratio of 1:1! ③ Chinese gout patients, due to insufficient knowledge of the disease, believe that gout is incurable and have given up treatment. The follow-up rate of Chinese gout patients after an acute arthritis attack is about 20% after 1 month (19.5% in 2015 and 20.7% in 2016), and the rate of six-month follow-up is much less, 1.6% in 2015 and doubled by 3.9% in 2016 with some progress – however, 96.1% of Gout patients give up treatment after six months of acute attacks …… Did this group of people who gave up treatment regain their lives through exercise diet life attention? Dr. Yu also hopes so, however, the study data once again hit the face hard, among the gout patients who did not follow up regularly (the 96.1% who gave up treatment), only 4.2% achieved the blood uric acid standard through exercise diet intervention. Let’s look at the data from the U.S. empire, which shows that 80% of gout patients choose to stick to their doctors’ words and use their medication properly. ④ A large number of studies have confirmed that gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia are closely related to hypertension, diabetes, abnormal lipid metabolism, chronic kidney disease, and the onset of obesity. So can gout be cured or not? To cure gout, the cause of the disease must first be clarified. If the cause of a disease is not clearly understood, it is impossible to talk about a cure or a cure. However, the cause of gout is relatively clear, namely hyperuricemia. Every patient with gout must have experienced a period of hyperuricemia before the attack that went unnoticed, or was noticed but not taken seriously. The saturation of blood uric acid in normal people is about 400 μmol/L (according to the book description it should be 420umol/L). When the blood uric acid concentration exceeds the saturation, urate crystals will precipitate and deposit into the joints and bones. Every time there is any reason, such as a big drink or meat causing the blood uric acid level to rise again, new crystals will be deposited; or explosive strenuous exercise or incorrect use of uric acid-lowering drugs such as allopurinol will cause the uric acid level to plummet and the crystals already deposited will dissolve. Whether the crystals are newly deposited, or dissolved, it causes the already deposited urate crystals to become unstable and converge to release inflammatory factors, leading to a gout attack. Gout can be cured or not 1. The reason why gout can be cured The root cause of gout is hyperuricemia, through lifestyle intervention and medication, the blood uric acid level can be controlled below the target value (360 or 300 μmol/L, depending on the condition) for a long time, and then the urate crystals in the joint cavity can be gradually dissolved. When the urate crystals are dissolved, if the blood uric acid level can continue to meet the target and no new crystals are produced, the frequency of gout attacks will decrease or even stop, and gout will be cured at that time. From this point of view, gout can be cured. Gout is also one of the few rheumatologic diseases that can be cured by “breaking the root” of the disease. 2, gout can not be cured reasons Whether it is gout patients or doctors, many people believe that gout is not curable. The reasons for this are as follows: people have seven emotions and six desires, no one wants to live an ascetic life, so it is inevitable that occasionally indulge in a little, after a lot of wine and meat, gout will easily attack again quietly. Maintaining the blood uric acid standard for a long time can reduce the frequency of gout attacks or even stop them, but there are different ways to maintain the blood uric acid standard: some people may finally be able to stop the medication and achieve the standard through strict lifestyle intervention, while a significant number of people cannot stop the medication and need lifelong medication to lower uric acid. Many people have recurrent gout attacks that have damaged joints and even internal organs such as the kidneys, and these damages are often irreversible. We have different interpretations of “cure” Many patients hope for a cure: after taking a certain “medicine”, uric acid will no longer be high, gout will no longer attack, and the “medicine” should be natural and without side effects. The “medicine” should preferably be natural and without side effects. Doctors and gout sufferers alike have such hopes, but the truth is often not so rosy. The long-term achievement of the blood uric acid standard can make gout attacks less frequent or even no longer, but this is a marathon, and it is important to persist in the long term, and it cannot be achieved overnight. Any medication has certain “side effects”, but when taken under the guidance of a doctor and reviewed regularly, these “side effects” are often rare and even negligible. The “drugs” that claim to be “natural without side effects” and “cure for gout” are either ineffective or have no guarantee of safety. The key is not the word “cure”, but to remember the four points 1, about whether gout can be cured, each say, both understanding is actually not wrong. The key is to clarify the pathogenesis of gout and the knowledge of diagnosis and treatment: there is no gout without hyperuricemia, which is not controversial. 2, once elevated blood uric acid is found, you should start controlling uric acid under the guidance of your doctor, either through lifestyle intervention or medication. 3.In the past, when the medical level was not developed, joint destruction or internal organ damage occurred, that was a tragedy of limited medical conditions – historical limitations can be forgiven. Now that medical conditions are better, there are good drugs to treat gout and control uric acid, and you are still “hardworking” and do not seek treatment in time, that is not to take your body seriously. 4. It doesn’t make much sense to dwell on whether or not gout can be cured. The clear thing is that the uric acid must continue to reach the standard. Once the uric acid continues to meet the standard, gouty arthritis will attack less and less, and slowly stop attacking.