Fill out, tear off, fight back

Once you've made your flare-fighting appointment with your healthcare professional. record your appointment date and time below. Then tear this page off and take it with you to your appointment. There are helpful questions, and the reverse side includes information for you to share with your healthcare professional about your personal gout history. So you'll both be armed with the knowledge you'll need to fight for fewer flares.

Gout flares hit where It hurts

Gout flares occur when excess uric acid forms crystals, causing inflammation in your joints that leads to swelling and pain. Flares happen most often in the big toe, but can also happen in hands, elbows, and knees.

Gout flares often occur without warning and can cause:

• Joint swelling
• Tenderness
• Heat
• Severe pain
• Redness

Over time, gout flares may occur more often and the pain can last longer. If you want to fight for fewer flares, now is the time to take action. The sooner you can talk to your healthcare professional about your flares, the sooner you can begin fighting back.

Gout is caused by high uric Acid levels

The uric acid in your blood comes from purines that are produced by your body and also found in many foods. Most of your uric acid is produced naturally by your body, while the rest comes from your diet.

Some people produce too much uric acid, or have trouble eliminating what they produce. When this happens, uric acid levels may become too high and can lead to gout.

Eliminating high-purine foods from your diet may help lower your uric acid level. However, in most cases just changing your diet alone may not be enough to control your high uric acid.