Gout is a serious condition in which uric acid crystallizes between the connective tissue of the body's joints.

A painful ailment, Gout usually affects the big toes. However, it can also appear in one's knees, wrists, shoulders, ankles or fingers. The result is deathly pain, which lasts for a week or so before subsiding. Follow these lifestyle modifications and steps to ease a gout attack.

Take over-the-counter pain medication: Ibuprofen (Motrin) is a typical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which helps in managing acute gout pain. However, if it is an emergency, and you don't have any medicine handy, pop in a usual NSAIDs in order to manage the pain for a few hours.

Try steroids: The steroid drug prednisone is quite effective in a gout attack. Talk to your doctor about the gout-specific drugs, such as Colchicine (Colcrys), Allopurinol (Zyloprim) and Probenecid.

Prevent gout by drinking water: Water helps the renal system of your body to process the highly acidic uric acid and keeps the problem with too much crystallization in your joints at bay. Drinking a healthy amount of water in a day also helps your joints to work better and keeps them healthier. Better hydration in your body will let the synovial fluids of your body to work more efficiently. Stay away from fizzy and carbonated drinks, as they can aggravate gout.

Eat a natural diet of fruits and vegetables: In today's times, when a pizza is just a call away and family outings mean visiting fast food restaurants, it is always best to have a healthy portion of healthy fruits and vegetables in your diet. Heavy cholesterol-based foods tend to create inflammation and abnormal blood sugar levels. Eat a diet that is right in fiber and low-carbohydrate foods and you can be sure to keep gout pain at a distance.

Prevent gout through exercise: Not only does exercising helps you lose weight, it also helps in stopping further gout attacks. However, be sure you do not suffer from workout fatigue as it can damage your joints and actually trigger an attack.

Avoid over-exercising (anything above the recommended exercise boundaries. which rely on your age, weight and medical history).

Drink cherry juice: Some studies suggest that cherry juice has uric acid lowering properties and thus, should be part of a gout patient's daily drinking routine; especially if the gout attack is in full swing. This is because cherries help in dissolving the acid crystals in the joints, thus helping your body in eliminating the uric acid. Other fruits and vegetables, which help in treating gout attacks are strawberries, red grapes, bananas, celery, broccoli and spinach.

Eat foods rich in Vitamin C to prevent/treat gout attacks. Foods, which are rich in Vitamin C have bioflavonoids (found in many fruits). These help in easing a gout attack. If your gout attack and the related pain is severe, then go for 1/4th tablespoon of Vitamin C in water and take it once every 4 hours for around 3-4 days, in order to bring instant relief.

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