Allopurinol Gout Treatment
Allopurinol gout treatment is the most common form of long term gout treatment. It works by blocking the enzyme, xanthine oxidase, that normally produces uric acid.
It is vital that you have regular uric acid tests whilst on this treatment.
Before you begin taking allopurinol, you must be aware that all uric acid lowering therapies can trigger a painful gout flare. This will diminish as you keep taking the medication. It is caused by uric acid crystals that have accumulated in your body tissue dissolving. It is vital that you get rid of these crystals to avoid crippling joint damage, so you must manage this pain for the few weeks or months that it takes to dissolve them. See my explanation of allopurinol medication for more details.
You will normally start with 50mg – 100mg allopurinol tablets, followed by a blood test. It is important to go straight back to your doctor if you notice any allopurinol side-effects. In a very small number of cases, you can have a strong reaction against this drug, and it is vital that this is picked up immediately.
The blood test will indicate if your dosage needs to be increased – common allopurinol gout treatment dosage is 300mg, but this will depend entirely on your particular circumstances. Repeat blood tests at the interval advised by your doctor to ensure this dosage is right for you.
Although allopurinol gout treatment is common, it is also commonly misused. As I reported in my December 2006 Newsletter (Retrospective Claims Analysis of Gout Drug Utilization, Compliance and Associated Serum Urate Levels), less than half of gout patients who start allopurinol treatment continue with it. Of those that do, only one person in three will take a sufficient dose to lower uric acid to the level that will dissolve all uric acid crystals.
For successful allopurinol gout treatment, remember:
- Take pain relief as a precaution, or as you need it
- Continue to drink water all the time to flush oxipurinol from your system
- Get uric acid tests to make sure levels are maintained below 6mg/dL (0.35mmol/L)
- Take allopurinol every day
- Do not stop taking allopurinol unless advised by your doctor
More Allopurinol Gout Treatment Information
There is in-depth information about all aspects of allopurinol gout treatment in the Gout Treatment Section. The information is spread over several pages starting on the allopurinol page within the uric acid lowering subsection.
Allopurinol Gout Treatment Spelling
Like many medicines, allopurinol is often misspelled. Though spelling is often overrated, it pays to take extra care with medicines, as a misunderstanding might cause treatment problems in the unlikely event of a similar sounding drug being taken mistakenly.
- Allopurino
- Missing final l.
- Alluporinol
- lupo changed to lopu.
- Allupurinol
- lop changed to lup.
- Alopurinol
- allo changed to alo.
- Alopurenol
- allo changed to alo, and purin changed to puren.
- Alipurinol
- allo changed to ali.
- Alipurinal
- allo changed to ali, and nol changed to nal.
- Allipurinal
- allo changed to alli, and nol changed to nal.
- Alopurinal
- allo changed to alo, and nol changed to nal.
- Allopurinol
- This is the correct spelling of allopurinol - the most common gout treatment for lowering uric acid.
- Allopurinal
- nal ending changed to nol. This is the most frequent mis-spelling of allopurinol
- Alupurionol
- Allo changed to Alu, and extra o added before nol.
All these spellings refer to the allopurinol gout treatment. If you are aware of other alternative spellings, please share them on the gout forum.
This article was first published prior to May 2008, and is reformatted here to suit the updated layout.
Leave Allopurinol Gout Treatment to read more allopurinol information.
