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Lao Li is 60 years old this year. His previous physical examination showed that his uric acid was high, reaching 527μmol/L. Because it is neither painful nor itchy, he has not been paid attention to. In his sleep the night before yesterday, Lao Li suddenly felt severe pain in his toes. After waking up from the pain, he turned on the light and saw that his big toe was red and swollen, and it was very hot to the touch, so he didn’t dare to rub it with his hands. What’s going on here?

After hearing Lao Li’s moaning, his wife quickly got up to check what was wrong, and got out of bed and took a hot towel to help him warm up. This is not enough, it doesn’t matter, a hot compress will make the pain worse. In desperation, Lao Li could only suffer until the next day, and hurried to the hospital at dawn. After arriving at the hospital, after a doctor’s examination and blood test, it was diagnosed as acute gouty arthritis.

Why can’t I use hot compresses for acute gouty arthritis?

In daily life, most of us think that where the pain is, applying a hot towel can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, reduce swelling and relieve pain. However, when acute gouty arthritis attacks, the joint redness, swelling and heat pain are caused by the release of inflammatory mediators and telangiectasia. At this time, hot compress is not only useless to the disease, but will cause local telangiectasia to become more severe, thereby aggravating the disease. Therefore, do not apply heat after a gout attack.

Can I use cold compresses during a gout attack?

Cold compresses can be used during acute gout attacks. Cold compresses can reduce and slow down the release of local histamine in swollen and painful joints, reduce the sensitivity of tissues to pain (pain relief); reduce local vasoconstriction and blood flow, reduce the exudation and swelling of microcirculation of swollen and painful joints and surrounding tissue fluids (elimination of pain). swelling); reduce the effect of vascular endothelial cells and the formation of thrombus; reduce the release of oxygen free radicals, etc. Therefore, a cold towel or ice pack can be used for cold compresses during an acute attack of gout.

Of course, cold compresses alone are not enough to quickly relieve symptoms of gout attacks. Patients should take gout-related drugs as soon as possible or go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Okay, the above is the common knowledge of health science brought to you today. If you need to take medicine or want to know more about medicine, please consult your doctor or pharmacist. Under the guidance of rational drug use. At the same time, everyone is welcome to pay attention to me and gain health knowledge every day.