What does high uric acid levels in my blood test results, with pain in feet means?

Firstly the normal uric acid levels in healthy people should be:
In men: less than 7mg/dL of serum uric acid
In women: less than 6mg/dL of serum uric acid

Older people have high normal values due to high breakdown of proteins in their bodies than younger men and women.
Infants and kids may have normal ranges below 5 mg/dl due to incomplete purine cycle in their bodies or low protein intake or breakdown.
Other than normal values mentioned above is considered abnormal uric acid levels and require treatment and medication to reduce the uric acid levels in blood.

Where the uric come from and what is urine stones and why high urine cause foot and joint pain?
The answers are: meats and proteins in foods are broken down in blood into amino acids and purine products, in which purine is transformed into several products then uric acid which is transported via the blood stream to the kidneys and it is eliminated in urine.

When excessive amount of proteins in dietary then uric acid in blood elevated and body cannot excrete it then it precipitated around bones and joints and cause stones and pain.

What causes high uric acid levels in blood?
High uric acid levels cause many diseases, also many diseases elevating uric acid level such:
1- Gout disease:
Common disease in which defective metabolism of uric acid is cause arthritis, esp. in the smaller bones of the feet, and cause deposition of chalkstones.
Symptoms are: (swelling, warmth, and tenderness) of the joint, fever, and peeling of the skin around the joint.
High uric acid level cause gout is: Uric acid levels exceeding 10mg/dL increases the risk of developing gout.

2- Kidney stone:
It is a hard mass formed in the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds.
Symptoms are: painful and more frequent urination, bloody urine and painful urination, and if there is a secondary infection a fever may be detected, nausea and vomiting. Approximately 10% of the kidney stones that are detected in the United States are composed of uric acid.

3- Arthritis disease
Painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints

4- Kidney disease or renal failure
It is Damage to or disease of the kidney. An older term for this is nephritis.
Symptoms may be: decreased urination, shortness of breath, swelling in the limbs, confusion and drowsiness, fatigue, or chest pain. Kidney failure can develop in patients with leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to uric acid levels.

5- Heart diseases:
An umbrella term used for a variety of different diseases which affecting the heart. as of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the united states, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the united states alone., uric acid not direct reason to heart disease but it suggested by professors because high uric cause hypertension.

Also there are foods and many daily habits which cause high uric acid levels such as:

  1. High levels of caffeine and alcohol consumption, purine-rich foods (Peas, beans, mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, meat and meat products, seafood, shell fish, and legumes). The high intake of those foods the high risk elevating uric acid level in blood.
  2. Also Medications and vitamins such as diuretic medications; niacin; vitamin B3; immuno-suppressive medications.In addition to Medical conditions as Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s lymphomas; under active thyroid (Hypothyroidism); Leukemia; Psoriasis; Obesity

What are symptoms of high uric acid levels?
Symptoms of high uric acid levels are very intensive and easy to know, but it differs by the medical condition as mentioned above.

Treatments which reduce high uric acid levels
Usually doctors recommend those product based medications:
Allupurinol, febuxostate and sulfinpyrazone

Recommendation for who have High uric acid levels in blood test results:
Simple what to do procedure to help those suffer from high uricemia in their blood
1-repeat results to reassure that the uric acid levels are already high.
2- Some doctors recommend some confirmatory tests to neglect some other disease than gout, as request blood rheumatoid factor (RF) test to diagnose arthritis, or ANA to confirm arthritis and autoimmune diseases of bone inflammation
3- Get rid of the protein rich diets and caffeine to prevent elevation of uric acid.

Dr.Megan Ralf

A Medical laboratory Scientist who devoted his life to medical and laboratory sciences, writes his everyday expertise dealing with various pathological conditions through laboratory diagnosis of different body fluids, also participating in many workshops for first aids, infection control, and urgent care. Also Dr Megan Ralf coaching many medical teams.

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