Gout is a common disease of people with metabolic disorders, water-alkaline balance and, as a result, with obesity and other related diseases. The disease affects the kidneys and forms ugly painful growths on the bones of the arms and legs - deposits of uric acid. The disease gained its fame in the days of Hippocrates and Seneca and was considered the "disease of the kings." After all, what gives a malfunction in the metabolism of the body? Excessive consumption of fried and fatty foods in combination with alcohol. And the consumption of it all at the feasts accepted at that time at night. That is what the nobility of those times suffered from.
What happens in the body with gout
A person does not feel pain right away, and there are no external noticeable changes at the beginning of the disease. A gradual accumulation of urates (derivatives of uric acid) occurs, leading to joint deformation. There are noticeable thickening on the bones of the hands, the appearance of a "gouty cone" on the leg. If this disease is not treated, an accumulation of uric acid will occur, which will be carried by blood to other tissues and organs where urate crystals will precipitate.
Mineral water
Despite the fact that the disease has a considerable age, there are still no effective methods of complete cure in medicine. Alkaline mineral waters with gout in combination with a balanced diet have established themselves today as the best of the means and components of a comprehensive treatment. But water is not a cure. It will have a beneficial effect on the body, improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, but a person who suffers from gout should understand the importance of the diet and exclude all fried foods, smoked meats and alcohol from their diet.
Mineral water for gout. Names
The benefits of mineral water have long been known. The royal courts and their subjects allowed themselves the luxury of traveling "on the water" to rest and be treated. For example, the Czech spa resorts have never been empty since their inception. So, the spa Františkovy Lázně already existed in the twelfth century. Today, healing mineral water is an indispensable product in the diet of people who monitor their health. This, of course, is not a miracle cure, but mineral waters are used for gout both for treatment and for prevention.
Shop shelves are literally full of lots of bottles of mineral water. According to its taste, saturation with minerals, and healing properties, the water of one source differs from another. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the fact that the water is alkaline - it is also called bicarbonate - it has a soda flavor. In addition, water should not have artificially saturated, but natural, weak mineralization. Mineral waters with gout known in the trading and pharmacy network possess these characteristics: Polyana Kupel, Essentuki, Smirnovskaya, Nagutskaya, Slavyanovskaya, Luzhanskaya.
They include trace elements such as calcium, sulfites and sulfates, silicon, magnesium. The composition of the salts of trace elements in each water is different and depends on where the source is located. So, “Glade font” contains from 8 to 9 grams of mineral salts per liter, and “Essentuki” (No. 4) is more saturated with salts, from 7 to 10 grams per liter.
Doctors' recommendations for taking mineral water
Before drinking mineral water, you need to consult a doctor, because in addition to gout, the patient may have a number of diseases. That is why the water should be selected that contributes to the healing of the whole organism. The doctor, having analyzed the results of the patient’s examinations, will draw his attention to what mineral water to drink with gout, when and in what quantities, in order to achieve a positive result.
In the treatment and prevention of disease, there should be moderation and balance, an excess of minerals is unfavorable for the body, as well as its lack. Patients should understand that mineral water for gout, whatever it tastes, is a healing liquid, and you need to drink it no more than 3 times a day, 4 milliliters per kilogram of patient weight. For example, if a person weighs 75 kilograms, the total amount of water will be 300 milliliters or 300 grams. If you drink 100 grams at a time. mineral water. It should be warm, not lower than body temperature. You need to drink water half an hour before meals, in small sips. Since water has a specific taste, you can start taking it in a lower dosage, bringing it to normal in a day or two.
What effect do mineral waters have with gout?
Mineral water is not a panacea for the treatment and prevention of the disease. But its use in combination with medications will accelerate recovery, help relieve pain. Thanks to the intake of mineral water during remissions, the body compensates for the deficiency of trace elements and minerals, improves metabolic processes in the body, eliminates the pH imbalance in the digestive system, and prevents the accumulation of uric acid in the affected organ.
As practice shows, it is alkaline mineral water, which includes sulfates, that helps to efficiently remove toxins from the body and normalize metabolic processes. In this case, the urogenital system is cleansed, the risk of inflammation both in it and in the joints is reduced. But not only during remissions, but also during inflammation, alkaline mineral water is beneficial. Names (with gout) of mineral water that is used and meets the listed characteristics: “Nabeglavi”, “Luzhanskaya”, “Essentuki”, “Naftusya”, “Dilijan”, “Polyana Kupel”.
From the history of the discovery of mineral springs
With gout, doctors most often recommend Essentuki. From the stories of the Cossacks of the Esentukovsky redoubt, it is known that their horses discovered this miraculous water. They liked to drink brackish water from the swamp, preferring it to river water. There were 23 such “swamps” in the okrug. Scientists became interested in these sources. The analysis of water showed the presence of sulfites and sulfates in it, and saturation with carbon dioxide. There was a taste of soda in it, which alkaline mineral waters have. The list (for gout) is replenished with water "Esentuki No. 17". It is in this source that there is a high concentration of bicarbonates and chlorides. The remaining sources of Essentuk water are low in minerals.
Sanatorium treatment
A significant role in the healing of people suffering from diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system and, as a special case, gout, is given to sanatorium treatment.
They tried to treat gout with hot waters in the thermal springs of Ancient Rome and Bulgaria in the twelfth century. Later specialized sanatoriums began to appear, in which there were 2 areas: the presence of low-mineralized water and mineral waters for balneotherapy. Typically, doctors refer patients to a sanatorium to receive comprehensive treatment, the result of which is the removal of the pain syndrome and the removal of urates from the body. Thanks to this approach, a lasting therapeutic effect is achieved. Patients who visited the sanatorium evaluate the effect obtained from treatment as positive and try to repeat treatment "on the waters" at least once a year.
Procedures in balneological sanatoriums
The list of procedures of the balneological resort includes methods of treatment, restoration and prevention, using both natural and artificially prepared mineral waters.
With gout, a vacationer, as part of a therapeutic recreation, receives not only a comprehensive treatment with water, but also baths, in which water, acting on the skin, gives a positive effect, reducing its dryness and increasing permeability. Internal procedures contribute to the healing of the whole organism. Typically, the duration of such recovery is two to three weeks. But even during this time, vacationers get a fairly good effect.