# Drinking soda water can relieve gout ##rumour#
To understand whether drinking soda water can relieve gout, you must first know what gout is.
Gout is a crystal-related arthropathy caused by the deposition of monosodium urate. It is directly related to hyperuricemia. It belongs to the category of metabolic rheumatism. Its early symptoms are mainly joints. Redness, swelling, pain and other symptoms of arthritis.
People who think that drinking soda can relieve gout understand this: the occurrence of gout is caused by high uric acid, so uric acid-lowering treatment is an important measure to prevent gout attacks. The way to lower uric acid includes alkalizing urine, including sodium bicarbonate tablets. Soda water is also alkaline water (weakly alkaline drink), so soda water also has the effect of alkalizing urine and lowering uric acid, which is effective in relieving gout symptoms.
It sounds like this is indeed the case, so it does make sense to say that "drinking soda water can relieve gout." But, that’s not the case!
1. Gout and hyperuricemia are two concepts
Although hyperuricemia is the direct factor causing gout, gout is gout, and high uric acid is high uric acid. This must be distinguished. Why? Because the treatment ideas for these two diseases are different. During a gout attack, treatment should first suppress the inflammatory response and relieve the symptoms of joint swelling and pain, while uric acid-lowering treatment is carried out during the remission period of gout.
2. The correct way to relieve gout
For patients with gout attacks, the most important thing at this time is to reduce and relieve the symptoms of redness, swelling and pain in the joints. Generally, they are taken internally and externally. . For example, topical application of some anti-inflammatory and analgesic plasters (such as indomethacin babu cream), some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, and colchicine and/or glucocorticoid drugs can relieve symptoms and relieve joint pain. Tissue inflammatory response. In the "2016 Chinese Gout Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines" it is clearly stated that anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatment should be carried out as early as possible during the acute attack of gout.
3. What is soda?
There is usually edible alkali in the kitchen. Another name for edible alkali is baking soda, and the chemical name of its main ingredient is hydrogen carbonate. Sodium, anyone who has studied chemistry knows that sodium bicarbonate is weakly alkaline, and the ingredients of soda water include sodium bicarbonate, so soda water is also called weakly alkaline water.
4. Can soda water reduce uric acid?
From a purely theoretical perspective, soda water can indeed neutralize some acidic substances and alkalize urine. But we have to consider it based on reality. First of all, soda water itself is a weakly alkaline drink, and the acid it can neutralize is minimal. Secondly, we don’t seem to be able to drink much soda water. In addition, when the urine pH value is greater than 7.0, it is easy to form calcium oxalate chicken and other types of stones, so it is generally not recommended to alkalize urine to treat hyperuricemia.
Therefore, it is wrong to say that soda water relieves gout. In the acute attack of gouty arthritis symptoms, we should first give active anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatment. When symptoms subsequently subside, uric acid-lowering treatment can be considered. Uric acid-lowering treatment, on the one hand, reduces the production of uric acid, and on the other hand, promotes the metabolism of uric acid. However, it is generally not recommended to alkalize urine to lower uric acid. And soda water does not relieve gout!
What should we pay attention to in our diet when we have gout?