Nearly 40 years old Mike usually very likes to eat food, especially fatty and juicy fish and meat, with a few cups of wine, can always make him satisfied. However, this pampering of the taste buds, but inadvertently quietly buried a health hazard.
Recently, Mike discovered that the big lesser toe joint on his right foot began to look like it had been gently pricked by a fine needle from time to time. At first, he thought it was just a hiccup left by age, or due to occasional fatigue, so he didn't pay much attention to it. But as time went by, the pain, instead of dissipating, became more severe, especially in the dead of night, it was so painful that he tossed and turned and found it difficult to sleep. Finally, in the face of this growing torment, Mike decided to drop everything at hand and stepped into the hospital. After a meticulous and comprehensive enquiry, the doctor followed up with a full body check-up, probing every subtle change within his body. As well as joint ultrasound examination, like a lens, directly exposed the secret hidden deep in the joints - gout.
The doctor solemnly told Mike that he was suffering from gout, a disease caused by a disorder of uric acid metabolism in the body. Uric acid should be the body's metabolism after the natural discharge of waste, but due to Mike's eating habits, especially the excessive intake of high-purine food, as well as the catalytic effect of alcohol, resulting in its accumulation in the body into a mountain, and ultimately the formation of sharp crystals of urate, deposited in the joint cavity, like a sharp razor blade, and constantly stimulate the surrounding soft tissues, triggering severe pain.
To make matters worse, Mike's failure to seek timely medical attention not only caused these urate crystals to continue their evil deeds but also triggered synovitis. Imagine the joint cavity, which should be as smooth as a mirror, is now rough and uneven due to these uninvited guests. The synovial membrane, as the ‘lubricant’ of the joints, has to work twice as hard in such a harsh environment to try to alleviate the friction, but it is still overwhelmed by inflammation and swelling, which aggravates the pain and discomfort.
Synovitis, simply put, is an unfortunate ‘cold’ that affects the synovium, the delicate and important ‘undergarment’ of the joints. At the same time, it quietly nourishes the cartilage in the joints, ensuring that it is strong enough to withstand daily wear and tear.
But when injury, infection, a little immune system rebellion or metabolic imbalance creeps in the synovial membrane's guardian begins to struggle. The clear synovial fluid becomes cloudy and accumulates in the joint cavity in an ocean, and this is where effusion is born. This effusion makes the joints feel heavy and uncomfortable. In the body of a gout sufferer, a uric acid ‘rebellion’ is taking place. The blood uric acid value is like an out-of-control flood beast, constantly climbing, as if the synthesis of uric acid has been pressed the accelerator button, frantically creating ‘urate crystals. The sharp edges of these crystals constantly irritate the synovial membrane, like countless needle tips teasing the sensitive nerves. The synovial membrane is finally overwhelmed by this constant stimulation, becoming congested and oedematous, and the originally soft tissue becomes hard, losing its former elasticity and lustre, thus synovitis quietly descends.
This is why high uric acid can lead to synovitis. The patient's joints begin to experience a painful ‘storm’ of pain, swelling, and limited mobility ...... These words, which were originally unattainable, have now become a normal part of their lives. The root cause of all this is the seemingly insignificant urate crystals, and their relentless destruction of the synovial membrane and Mike's right big lesser toe joints, from the initial vague pain, developed into today's ineffable pain, and the root cause of all this, it is the indulgence of his weekdays on the food and the neglect of health. Now, faced with the challenge of gout, Mike has to re-examine his lifestyle and embark on a new journey of fighting the disease and pursuing good health.
