To maintain your health, diet and physical activity are not enough. It is also necessary to regularly check the condition of the body. Any person, regardless of their well-being, must take a blood test once a year. This helps to diagnose the disease already in the early stages, before the development of any symptoms.
One of the indicators that you need to pay attention to when taking tests is the level of uric acid. An increase in its quantity is dangerous because for a long time it does not manifest itself. Therefore, it is worthwhile to understand what are the reasons for its increase and how to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood.
Substance rate
Uric acid is a compound that is produced in liver cells. It is formed due to the metabolism of purine bases. From the body, it is excreted through the tubules of the kidneys, connecting with carbon dioxide. Therefore, the presence of urate in the blood and urine is a normal occurrence. She should be present there, but only in a strictly limited quantity:
- the norm for men is 200-420 μmol / l;
- normal concentration in women is 150-340 micromol / l;
- the norm for children and adolescents is 110-320 micromol / l.
Hyperuricemia is toxic to the entire human body. If there is such a result, a person should think about how to quickly reduce the level of uric acid in the blood.
In which cases increases the level of toxic compounds in the blood and urine
In most cases, the answer to the question of how to lower the level of uric acid in the blood directly depends on the reason for its increase. The most common conditions doctors include the following:
- changes in diet;
- prolonged malnutrition;
- excessive drinking
- high motor activity.
It is especially important to consider malnutrition as the cause of the described pathological condition. It, in particular, arises from the excessive consumption of foods rich in purine bases: meat, black bread, dark beer, legumes, sorrel.
The increase in the amount of uric acid due to the reasons presented above is easily adjusted by diet and folk remedies. But if the symptom is observed for a long time, it is most likely associated with organic pathology. In this case, more serious therapy with the use of drugs is required. It is precisely such problems that will be discussed later in the article.
Types of increased urate in the blood
The choice of drugs that reduce the level of uric acid in the blood depends on the type of hyperuricemia. Only a qualified specialist can correctly identify it and prescribe the appropriate medicine.
There are two varieties of this pathological process:
- primary - an independent disease, the cause of which could not be determined;
- secondary - pathology manifests itself as a symptom of other diseases.
The most characteristic disease, which is accompanied by an increase in uric acid, is gout. In this case, the toxic compound accumulates in excessive quantities for one of two reasons:
- increased production in the liver;
- decreased urinary excretion through the kidneys.
Key tips to reduce urate levels
Before moving on to specific medicines, the secrets of traditional medicine, dietary recommendations, it is worthwhile to sort out the basic advice of specialists. They should be followed by anyone who seeks to reduce the concentration of uric acid. The patient should:
- To cure or achieve remission of the underlying disease. This applies to cases when hyperuricemia is secondary.
- Get rid of excess weight. Usually, uric acid concentration correlates with excess body weight.
- Strictly adhere to the recommendations of your doctor. This means that the prescribed medications should be drunk regularly, in the required dose, without reducing the course of treatment on your own.
Home recipes
Most people who have found an increased amount of urate are immediately trying to find information on how to lower their uric acid levels at home. It is really possible. But only on condition that the increase is insignificant and was detected in the early stages.
- It very effectively restores alkaline balance in the body and removes excess uric acid apple cider vinegar. To do this, stir a tablespoon of vinegar in a glass of water. Divide the solution into three doses per day. When the taste of vinegar is not already felt so strongly, you can increase its amount to 2 tablespoons by the same amount of water.
- The action of citrus juice is similar to apple cider vinegar. Therefore, those who cannot stand the taste of vinegar can replace it with lemon juice. A glass of water is enough juice of one lemon. The entire solution is drunk in the morning on an empty stomach.
- It neutralizes uric acid and helps to fight kidney stones with ordinary baking soda. The solution is prepared from 1/2 tablespoon of soda and a glass of water. Reception of this remedy should be limited to two weeks, since soda helps increase blood pressure.
- But nothing helps remove toxins from the body like drinking water without gas. A large amount of water improves renal filtration, thereby stimulating the excretion of uric acid.
Traditional medicine
In addition to the products that can be found in every home, there are effective recipes based on plant flowers or tree leaves. The following recipes will help answer the question of how to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood by folk remedies:
- A teaspoon of nettle juice 3 times a day. This plant increases the excretion of acid by the kidneys.
- Decoction of lingonberry leaves: 20 g of lingonberry is brewed in 200 ml of boiling water. After the broth has infused and cooled, it is drunk 1 spoon 3 or 4 times a day.
- Decoction of birch leaves: two tablespoons of birch leaves must be brewed in 400 ml of boiling water. Boil the solution for 10 minutes, after leaving it will infuse for 30 minutes. Drink a decoction while eating 50 ml.
With gout, when the joints of the legs are affected, it is effective to make a foot bath of calendula, chamomile and sage. To do this, 200 g of plant flowers are boiled in 1.5 liters of water. After the broth is infused for 2 hours. The solution is filtered and added to the foot bath. The temperature of the bath should be a couple of degrees below body temperature (35-37 ° C). This method effectively relieves pain and redness of the joints.
Dietary recommendations
But no folk remedy will be effective if a person does not change the diet. If you decide to lower the level of uric acid in your blood diet, you must first of all reduce the amount of foods rich in purines in your daily diet. Their main list is presented below:
- meat;
- fish;
- Domestic bird;
- yeast;
- mushrooms;
- Beans
- dark beer;
- asparagus.
It is worthwhile to reduce the consumption of foods with a high starch content, since the purine content in them is also slightly increased. These include: potatoes, rice, oats, spaghetti, bananas.
The list of useful products
But vegetables with a lot of fiber are useful for people with a high number of urates in the blood. These foods improve intestinal motility, thereby improving the digestion of purine foods. Products that lower the level of uric acid in the blood include:
- fruits;
- cucumbers
- carrot;
- cabbage;
- beet;
- whole grains;
- citrus.
Drug treatment
All of the above methods are effective only with a slight and short rise in urates. In cases where this symptom worries for a long time and causes complaints to the patient, you should consult a doctor. He will prescribe the necessary tests and select the appropriate treatment.
The most common diagnosis that is made to a patient with a high amount of uric acid is gout. The causes of this pathology have already been listed. It is depending on them that the doctor determines how to lower the level of uric acid in the blood with medications.
There are two groups of drugs for the treatment of gout :
- uricodepressive - reduce the production of uric acid in the liver;
- uricosuric - increase the excretion of acid from the body through the kidneys.
Uricodepressive drugs
The most common drug that lowers uric acid levels in the blood is Allopurinol. The mechanism of its action is to reduce the production of urate by the liver.
This drug is prescribed by a doctor after a third attack of arthritis and an increase in the level of acid in the blood to numbers over 420 μmol / L. If the presence of kidney stones or an increased concentration of creatinine is established, "Allopurinol" is prescribed immediately.
First, the drug is offered in a dose of 100-150 mg / day. Over two weeks, it is gradually increased to 300 mg / day. If the drug has been taken at the indicated dose for two weeks, but the effect has not been achieved, the amount is increased to 600 mg / day. And while maintaining the effect, the dose, on the contrary, is halved.
In case of severe renal impairment, the recommended dose of Allopurinol is 50-100 mg / day.
The effect should appear within one to two weeks from the start of medication. In parallel with it, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are usually prescribed.
During therapy with Allopurinol, unwanted side effects can be observed:
- allergic reactions;
- impaired liver function;
- decreased bone marrow function, which leads to a decrease in the synthesis of blood cells.
Allopurinol therapy is effective only if there are clear symptoms of high uric acid levels. With an asymptomatic increase in urate, diet therapy is enough.
Uricosuric preparations
Answering the question of how to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood, it is worth recalling another group of medicines - uricosuric drugs. They increase the excretion of acid in the urine, which leads to a decrease in its concentration in the body. These are drugs such as Probenecid, Benzbromaron, Benzyodaron.
They are prescribed with a decrease in uric acid excretion ≤ 700-800 mg / day. Patients must be less than 60 years old.
The use of drugs is contraindicated in case of impaired renal function and urolithiasis.
Treatment with uricosuric drugs has its side effects:
- headache;
- skin rashes;
- anemia
- nausea
- fever.
"Probenecid" must be taken with caution along with drugs that increase blood viscosity. Since this can lead to the formation of blood clots in the vessels.
We hope that in this article everyone found the answer to the question of how to reduce the level of uric acid in the blood. The main thing to remember is that the sooner a problem is identified, the easier it is to fix it. And this applies not only to uric acid levels. Therefore, a routine examination and blood test once a year should become a habit.