High Uric Acid in Urine - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

High uric acid in urine can be a sign of excruciating gout to come. Discover, here, why high levels of uric acid can occur in your urine and blood, and, how they can lead to gout and kidney stones. You'll also learn about treatment for high uric acid, both drug-based and natural. First, though, let's look at the symptoms of high uric acid in urine...

HIGH URIC ACID IN URINE SYMPTOMS

Having high levels in your urine (or blood for that matter) doesn't necessarily present any symptoms at first. Normally, the first indication is when these high levels produce the painful symptoms of gout and / or kidney stones. So how can high acid levels lead to gout and kidney stones?...

CAUSES OF HIGH URIC ACID IN URINE

Uric acid is a natural byproduct of the breakdown of natural chemical compounds called "purines" which exist in our bodies and in our food. Purines are vital for us, because they help to produce our energy and protein needs.

Your kidneys process the acid produced and expel excess levels out of your system via your bladder and urine. A small amount is expelled in stools. But if there is just too much acid being produced for your kidneys to handle, or, your kidneys themselves can't process it effectively enough, excess acid is retained in your blood and not expelled. And of course circulated around your body.

This excess can then be deposited as needle-like crystals in your joints and surrounding tissues. When this happens you get the symptoms of gout; swelling, redness, inflammation and unbearable pain. And, the high levels of uric acid can also cause painful kidney stones over time.

URIC ACID IN URINE v IN BLOOD

Remember how your kidneys process your blood, remove uric acid and then expel it via your bladder and urine? Well, comparing the levels of acid in your urine and blood over a 24 hour period, can give some interesting results...

High levels in urine and high levels in the bloodstream indicate that you have higher than normal levels in your body, but your kidneys are functioning o.k. It is just that your body is producing much higher levels of uric acid than normal and your kidneys -- although they are working fine -- just can't cope with the increase.

On the other hand, low levels in urine and high levels in blood show that it's your kidneys' inability to process the normal everyday production of uric acid efficiently enough that has lead to increased levels backing up in your blood.

Whichever is the case, all too often, painful gout attacks are the result. And repeated attacks of gout can lead to permanently damaged joints, and, kidney damage such as kidney stones, and even, kidney failure in extreme cases.

You should also be aware that, once having had one gout attack, you're almost certain to have repeated attacks unless you can find a way to manage your condition so that you can prevent future occurrences.

TREATMENT FOR HIGH URIC ACID

Drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs), corticosteroids and colchicines are used to address the inflammation and pain of gout. Others, such as allopurinol, are targeted at reducing uric acid levels. These are the types of medications that your doctor is likely to prescribe once high acid levels with gout have been diagnosed.

These can be effective, but, they have numerous nasty side effects such as nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, bleeding, stomach ulcers, etc. and, they can be very expensive especially over time with repeated attacks. Which is why so many sufferers like yourself are seeking out totally natural remedies...

HOME REMEDIES FOR HIGH URIC ACID

Home remedies use a whole range of natural approaches, like, the use of fruits, fruit juices, certain vegetables, a whole range of herbs, natural supplements, natural kidney cleanses, dietary changes, lifestyle adjustments, and so on; too many to go into here unfortunately.

Three of the most popular and effective are...

(1) Cherries - Eat a bowl every day to take advantage of their natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Natural cherry juice is also beneficial.

(2) Apple Cider Vinegar - Drink 3 teaspoons of raw, un-distilled apple cider vinegar in a 8oz glass of warm water (add honey to taste if you want) three time daily. This remedy will help adjust your blood pH, which in turn can lower high uric acid levels.

(3) Water - Drink at the very minimum 2 liters of water every day. Do not drink lots a few times a day, rather, drink smaller amounts more frequently and regularly during the day.

But, you diet is one of the most important factors in having, and dealing with, high uric acid levels...

You need to avoid food that is high in purines such as red meat, offal, some fish, shellfish, etc. And avoid alcohol, especially beer. There's a lot more, but too much to go into here.

But as a general rule of thumb, anything that is high in protein is high in purines. However, it's definitely not recommended that all protein food is eliminated! You have to learn which foods to eliminate, which to replace those with, and, which foods to retain.