Your diagnosis of gout may come with information and warnings about the foods you eat and what you can do to prevent further attacks.
You may be told your condition is hereditary in many cases, and that you should follow certain steps to get rid of your pain when you have an attack.
However, there are other causes of gout of which you may not be aware.
This means you could have gout when no one else in your family has been diagnosed, and it can also mean there are steps you can take to help with the pain and discomfort associated with this condition.
Heredity alone will not indicate that you will develop gout.
There are other factors that can make a difference in whether or not you go on to develop this.
Some studies suggest that a person with insulin resistance is more likely to have gout than those without.
Insulin resistance occurs when the body produces too much insulin because it is not recognizing the existing levels.
Eventually this situation can lead to diabetes if left uncontrolled.
Insulin resistance may also be a risk factor in developing it for some people.
Getting insulin resistance under control can help lower this risk.
When it comes to why gout attacks happen despite your best attempts at following a low purine good diet, there are a number of factors outside of your control that can come into play.
One example might be an injury to a joint.
Sustaining an injury to any joint in your body makes that joint more susceptible to the build up of uric acid crystals that are associated with gout and bring you so much pain.
However, you don't have to sustain a joint injury to have a flare up of gout.
Just having an inordinately high amount of stress on any joint can leave it susceptible to an attack.
If you have hip wear and tear, you are at risk of having a problem with it in your hips.
The same can be said if you have had stress on any other joints.
What you may think of as a flare up of pain associated with an injury may in fact be a new area in your body where uric acid crystals have started to form.
Although this is a fairly rare cause of gout, it may be a real possibility for some sufferers.
One gout risk factor that can be out of your control is temperature.
For sufferers who live in cool climates where winters are cold, gout attacks can increase over the winter months.
It is important to ensure you keep the joints that are susceptible to these attacks warm.
If its your feet that tend to feel the brunt of gout attacks then investing in some good quality, water proof shoes and thick socks may help to keep cold-related gout at bay.
All of these uncommon causes of these attacks are factors that are difficult to control, but knowledge that they can contribute to your flare-ups can help you more accurately take care of the pain.
When any joint in the body is compromised in any way, it is more susceptible to being a new place where uric acid crystals form.