You suddenly wake up in the dead of the night and you feel this terrible pain in your leg. Lying still may help, but it definitely does not seem to make it better. If you have experienced this, then you may be suffering from gout.

Gout is a common condition that strikes about 3.4 million American men every year. This is the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis among men who are 40 years old and above. It is characterized by sharp, severe pain in the joint area which disables one to move. Even a slight touch of a sheet could aggravate the pain. Immediately finding a joint pain relief is definitely what you are going to do when you experience a gout attack.

A gout attack is caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the body. Uric acid is the breakdown of purines, a chemical group present in all tissues and many foods. Normally, the body excretes uric acid on its own through the urine. However, some men may have inherited a metabolic malfunction which allows the blood uric acids to rise. Did you know that some medications like niacin and low-dose aspirin are said to increase the levels of uric acid in your body?

Anyway, gout is very painful. Usually, it strikes one joint at a time. Sometimes it's the forefoot, sometimes it's the ankle. You just have no clue where it's going to be next. At any site, the pain is going to start abruptly and without a warning. This is why most people suffering from an attack would wonder what they could have done to cause such pain.

After sometime of aching, the joint becomes red, swollen, and excruciatingly painful that all you long for is a joint pain relief that will deliver you from such distress. To some extent, an intense inflammation may start a fever and other flu-like symptoms.

The most effective joint pain relief caused by gout is NSAIDs or the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. NSAIDs are suggested to be taken as soon as the attack happens and used at the maximum recommended dosage. A lot of NSAIDs may be bought over-the-counter and they are all believed to be effective. Bear in mind though that Aspirin is not advisable to relieve joint pain in case your pain is brought about by gout. Aspirin can raise uric acid levels and this would only aggravate your condition.

Gout is recurrent and it can not be totally cured. So, if you are not yet suffering from it, might as well take some special caution to prevent yourself from having it. Basically, diet is the mainstay in preventing gout since 10% of the uric acid in the body comes from the food that you eat. Some foods that may increase the risk of having gout are:

* Meats, especially organ meats
* Meat extracts and gravies
* Lentils
* Beans
* Peas
* Mushrooms
* Spinach
* Seafood especially anchovies

All these foods are not bad on their own. However, they are known to have high purine levels which are a source of uric acid.