Many scientific works have already been written about the healing properties of the bath. People go to the steam room to lose weight, to cleanse the body of waste and toxins. The skin and blood vessels work most intensively in a hot and humid room. It is important that in the steam room, uric acid salts leave the body, which are one of the causes of gout and cause increased fatigue.
Features of gout
Gouty arthritis is a disease in which sodium salts accumulate and destroy the joint. With this pathology, characteristic bumps form on the foot. Most often they appear under the right toe. In this case, pain accompanies the patient not only in the feet, but also in other joints. Often the disease has a detrimental effect on the kidneys.
An exacerbation of gout cannot be calmed down with the usual analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs. The disease is treated with a variety of methods. Patients often resort to folk remedies and therapeutic exercises. Most doctors agree that visiting a bathhouse is one of the most effective methods of treatment.
Description of the disease
Clinical picture
Gout is a metabolic disorder in the body:
- The main cause of the disease is the accumulation of uric acid salts (so-called urates) in the joint capsules. In this case, special nodules - tophi - are formed along the perimeter of the joint.
Joint with gout
Note! With advanced disease, tophi can form even on the ear cartilage, as well as in the thickness of the skin.
- When moving, salt deposits injure muscles and ligaments, which causes pain.
- Also, when tissue is damaged, an inflammatory process can begin, which is a “trigger” for the development of gouty arthritis.
- Most often, the big toes are at risk, but inflammation of the knee or elbow joint is much more unpleasant.
At-risk groups
Who is susceptible to such an unpleasant disease:
Stages of development
- The main “audience” is men over 40 years old and women over 50-55 years old. Such differences are associated with hormonal levels: female sex hormones normalize the metabolism of uric acid salts, and the likelihood of developing the disease before menopause remains minimal.
- You also cannot discount genetic predisposition: if your relatives were sick, your chance of getting sick becomes much higher.
- Other risk factors include increased body weight, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol abuse, etc. Excess meat products in the diet can stimulate the development of this disease.
A sedentary lifestyle in older people is a serious risk factor
Note! For this reason, gout in the Middle Ages was called the “disease of kings” - commoners did not have the opportunity to overeat meat or lead a sedentary lifestyle. And even a negligible percentage of the ordinary population of European countries lived to be 40 years old.
In general, the disease is quite unpleasant, but curable. And in addition to medications and special therapy, a bath or sauna can alleviate the condition. Instructions for the correct organization of these procedures will be given in the next section.
Is it permissible to visit the bathhouse?
Visiting the steam room is not only possible, but also necessary. It is only important to do it according to the rules. Often, gout occurs in a chronic form, when treatment removes symptoms that, through
for some time they become only clearer. For maximum effect, it is recommended to go to a bathhouse with persistent hot steam; it is best to do this as often as possible. It is not uncommon for patients to be advised to steam up to 3-7 times a week.
There are many ways to improve the effect of a steam room for gout. However, the question “Is it possible to take a steam bath?”, first of all, should be answered by the patient’s attending physician. Often the cause of restrictions is not gout itself, but other concomitant diseases that affect the blood vessels and heart. If there are no medical reasons why the body cannot be exposed to hot steam, then you can spend time in the sauna. Some medical procedures are allowed to be carried out simultaneously while steaming, primarily this applies to traditional medicine methods.
Rules for visiting an infrared sauna for gout
First of all, you should not overload your body with a large amount of water, since it is already difficult for the kidneys to cope with liquid. This is a big plus of such sessions, because such conditions are very comfortable in terms of humidity and temperature. Secondly, you should not massage before the procedure, or rub gout lesions with ointments or creams. In addition, it is not recommended:
- Eat and drink plenty before the session;
- Engage in active physical exercise;
- Apply compresses based on medicinal herbs.
An infrared sauna for gout gives the first results after 3-4 months from the start of the visit.
Doctors' recommendations
Before visiting the bathhouse for the first time, be sure to consult with your treating specialist. He will determine whether there are any contraindications to the sessions. On the day of visiting the bathhouse, limit smoking (it is best 2-3 hours before the steam room and stop smoking altogether), and also do not drink alcohol. Avoid overeating during the day and eating 2 hours before entering the steam room. If inflammation in the joints worsens, then it is worth rescheduling the procedure to another day.
Before visiting the bathhouse, it is good to prepare decoctions that you will throw on the heater to obtain healing steam. One of the simplest decoctions consists of:
- glasses of boiling water;
- handfuls of lingonberry leaves.
These ingredients are mixed and heated over low heat for a third of an hour. After the broth has boiled well and changed color, it is removed from the heat, filtered and diluted with a liter of boiled water. The resulting amount of liquid is enough for one session in the bathhouse.
It is best to spend no more than 5 minutes in the steam room, you can make 2 sessions with this duration, but rest only in a warm room. If you have gout, sudden changes in temperature are prohibited, so do not swim in a cold pool after a bath, do not take an ice-cold shower, do not jump into the snow, or douse yourself.
Like a bolt from the blue
Gout is a disease that appears out of nowhere. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood, called asymptomatic hyperuricemia, can be exceeded for a very long time without any outward symptoms. A sudden, acute attack of pain in the joints occurs as a result of the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joints when its concentration is already very high. The attack usually occurs at night or in the morning, and in most cases affects the toe joint (the localization of a gout attack can be in any of the joints, but most often occurs in the extremities).
If pain occurs in several joints at the same time, then most likely it is not gout.
Hyperuricemia is an imbalance. There is much more uric acid in food than excreted in urine.
The risk of sudden onset of gout increases when uric acid levels are above 7 mg/dL.
How to increase the effectiveness of visiting a steam room
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I'm wondering what to apply to gout in the bathhouse. The pharmacy can offer you a variety of gels for therapeutic effects during steaming. It is best if your attending physician selects the appropriate composition for you. He will be able to choose the most effective remedy for your case.
Also, with the approval of a specialist, it is allowed to use traditional methods. One of the most popular is applying a mixture of honey and salt to the body; it will help increase sweating, and therefore speed up the elimination of salts. The directly affected joint can be smeared with a special product based on oil and alcohol. It is prepared according to the recipe:
- Boil the butter in a water bath and skim off the foam.
- Pour alcohol into the boiling oil. You can replace it with unflavored vodka; the amount of alcohol should be equal to the oil.
- Wait until the alcohol burns out and cool the ointment. Rub it with massage movements into the sore joint before the bath.
Choose the right broom for a bath to enhance its healing effect. Doctors recommend paying attention to brooms from:
- eucalyptus;
- nettle;
- birch trees
You can knit a broom yourself, which will combine all 3 plants. Eucalyptus and birch will have a therapeutic effect, and nettle will remove salts. Be sure to steam the broom thoroughly before use.
In the spring, you can prepare an infusion of lilac flowers to rub sore joints. To do this, add an arbitrary number of inflorescences to 500 milliliters of alcohol. The setting is made in a glass container for 21 days. The location of the container should be dark and cool. Shake the container every few days. After the bath, rub your joints with this remedy, do a light massage and put on woolen socks.
How to determine
Uric acid levels are the result of a blood test, not a urine test. Although this compound is indeed excreted in urine, its concentration in the urine itself is not important. The only thing that matters is what remains in the blood and circulates in the body. Too high a level of uric acid in the blood serum creates a risk of another attack.
Why was it called “the disease of abundance”
According to historical sources, patients such as Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin or Winston Churchill suffered from gout. Indeed, these individuals lived in abundance, but where did the connection between financial status and illness come from?
The fact is that the occurrence of gout is closely related to diet. The extremely poor part of society during those years did not have access to red meat (rich in purines), fatty foods, sugar or alcoholic beverages. These products were mainly intended only for wealthy people.
Purines are compounds that are broken down in the body into uric acid. Therefore, the more purines in food, the more dangerous it is. Foods and drinks rich in fructose and alcohol also increase your risk of getting sick.
What is there?
People with gout are advised to follow what is called a low-purine diet. What does this mean? Products consumed should not contain more than 300 mg of uric acid. Foods that reduce the risk of gout:
- dairy products, namely milk (also curdled milk),
- kefir,
- buttermilk, cottage cheese;
- vegetables and fruits containing large amounts of vitamin C, including cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, horseradish, berries, citrus fruits, rose hips;
- other vegetables and fruits: onions, beets, cucumbers, radishes, kohlrabi, parsley root, celery, apples, plums, pears, apricots, peaches, melons, grapes, cherries, raisins;
- lean meat, but in limited quantities.
- Interestingly, coffee, which is often considered very unhealthy, also reduces the risk of gout.
Low purine diet: menu
If you have problems with gout, it is especially important to drink enough fluid: about 2-3 liters per day. As a result, uric acid secretion increases, but the risk of kidney stones and complications leading to kidney damage is significantly reduced. It is best to drink non-carbonated mineral water, coffee beans, herbal and fruit teas, as well as cocktails consisting of milk and fruits or vegetables and fruits. It is recommended to avoid strong teas and juices, which lead to increased levels of uric acid in the blood. A good solution is to dilute fruit juices with water.
Breakfast:
- Rye flour roll,
- Cottage cheese 150 g,
- Green cucumber,
- radishes and onions.
2nd breakfast:
- orange,
- kiwi,
- Almonds (small handful)
- Natural yogurt.
dinner:
- Chicken breast (steamed),
- rice,
- Salad: carrots + apple.
Afternoon snack:
- pear,
- Walnuts (small handful).
dinner:
- Rye flour bread (slice with butter),
- Boiled eggs (2 pcs.),
- tomato.
What to do if a bath is contraindicated?
At the age when gout develops, a person usually already has health problems. Does this mean that he is doomed to painful gouty attacks if visiting the bathhouse is contraindicated? Of course not.
Folk ways to fight the disease
If you turn to traditional medicine, then to achieve a therapeutic effect you can use a mixture of carrot and cucumber juice. This composition perfectly removes uric acid from the body if you drink it 1 glass 3 times a day before meals. Apples have an excellent effect on acid and should be consumed as often as possible throughout the year. Do not neglect herbal tea, which includes mint, yarrow and rosehip.
As for local effects on the joint, hot poultices can be used. To prepare them, grind elderberry and chamomile flowers, put the mixture in a clay bowl and pour boiling water over it. Cover the dish and leave for 15 minutes. Next, the mixture is filtered, the herbs are placed in a fabric bag and applied to the joint.
For limbs affected by gout, contrasting water procedures are pleasant and effective. After adding decoctions of chamomile and string to cold and hot water, alternately lower your legs or arms into one and the other container. You can periodically add boiling water to the hot water. In this case, you need to massage the sore joints. The last one should be a bowl of hot water. Then the joints are rubbed well with ointment. It is prepared in advance or purchased at the pharmacy. The limbs are well wrapped and go to bed.
