What is Uric Acid Test? Causes, Symptoms of Uric Acid

Have you been experiencing intense joint pains lately? Are you been suffering excruciating pain in the toe of your leg? It is most likely that you are having high Uric Acid test levels. The pain that you experience in the toe as a result of Gout, and the intense joint pains are a result of high Uric Acid levels in your body.

In the human body, most of the uric acid is filtered out by the kidneys, which passes out of the body in the form of urine. A small amount passes out of the body in the form of stool. But if too much uric acid is being produced or if the kidneys are not able to remove it from the blood normally, the level of uric acid in the blood increases.

What is Uric Acid?

Uric acid is a chemical created when the body breaks down substances called Purines. Purines are found in some foods and drinks, such as liver, anchovies, mackerel, dried beans and peas, and beer. High levels of uric acid in the blood can cause solid crystals to form within the joints. This causes a painful condition called gout. If gout remains untreated, these uric acid crystals can build up in the joints and nearby tissues, forming hard lumpy deposits called tophi. High levels of uric acid may also cause kidney stones or kidney failure. High levels of uric acid in the blood can result from either increased production of uric acid in the body or decreased excretion of it through the kidneys. Most of the uric acid dissolves in the blood and travels to the kidneys. From there, it passes out in urine. If your body produces too much uric acid or does not remove enough if it, you are liable to get sick. A high level of uric acid in the blood is called Hyperuricemia.

It could also lead to problems like gouty arthritis (uric acid crystals deposit in joints, particularly in the big toe), kidney stones and renal failure. Studies have also revealed that uric acid levels are associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

What Are The Causes Of High Uric Acid Test Levels?

There are a number of factors that could lead to high uric acid test levels in the blood.

• Having a family history of gout
• Being overweight
• Having kidney problems
• Lead exposure
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Taking certain medications like diuretics or niacin

The high concentration of uric acid in the blood will eventually convert the acid into urate crystals, which can then accumulate around the joints and soft tissues. Deposits of the needle-like urate crystals are responsible for the inflammation and the painful symptoms of gout.

What Are The Symptoms Of Uric Acid?

Most of the time, a high uric acid test level occurs when your kidneys don’t eliminate uric acid efficiently. Some of the factors responsible for this slow-down in the removal of uric acid include rich foods and other factors enumerated above. Other less common causes are a purine-high diet or your body producing too much uric acid.

• Intense joint pain that is most severe in the first 12 to 24 hours
• Joint pains that last a few days to a few weeks and spreads to more joints over time
• Redness, tenderness, and swelling of the joints

How Can The Test Be Diagnosed?

A Uric Acid test is needed to determine the Uric Acid levels in the blood. Normally, blood is drawn from a vein located on the inner part of the elbow or sometimes, the back of the hand.

• Help diagnose gout
• Check if kidney stones may be caused by high uric acid levels in the body
• Check to see the efficacy of medicines on the uric acid levels
• Check the uric acid test levels in people undergoing or planning to undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

How To Prepare For The Test?

You should not eat or drink anything for 4 hours before the test unless told otherwise. Some of the medicines that you may be taking could interfere with blood test results. Your doctor may ask you to stop taking any drugs that may affect the test results. But, never stop taking any medicine without talking to your doctor.
Uric Acid Blood test results

The Normal Levels Of The Test Are

Men: 3.4–7.0mg/dL
Women: 2.4–6.0 mg/dL
The normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about your results, and you will be told in detail the meaning of your specific test results.

Higher Than Normal Levels Be Due To

• Acidosis
• Alcoholism
• Chemotherapy-related side effects
• Diabetes
• Excessive exercise
• Gout
• Hypoparathyroidism
• Lead poisoning
• Leukemia
• Medullary cystic kidney disease
• Nephrolithiasis
• Polycythemia vera
• Purine-rich diet
• Renal failure
• Toxemia of pregnancy

Lower-Than-Normal Levels Be Due To

• Fanconi syndrome
• Low purine diet
• Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion
• Wilson disease

Tips To Manage Uric Acid Levels

• Eat high-fiber foods.
• Use cold-pressed olive oil in cooking instead of butter or vegetable oils.
• Ensure that you take Vitamin C regularly. Drink lemon juice regularly – it contains Vitamin C, which helps lower Uric Acid levels.
• Avoid or minimize bakery products.
• Eat antioxidant-rich foods.
• Avoid or minimize saturated fat, transfat, sugar and alcohol – all these affect your triglycerides, and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
• Drink plenty of fluids to help flush uric acid from your body. You should drink a minimum of 3 – 4 liters of water daily. Water helps the kidney to filter the impurities from your body.
• Try to avoid high-protein weight-loss diets that can cause your body to produce too much uric acid.
• Restrict the consumption of meat, poultry and fish – animal proteins are high in purine and this will result in high uric acid levels in the body.
• Baking soda, also called bicarbonate of soda, is highly beneficial for lowering uric acid Test levels and reducing gout pain. Mix one-half teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water, and drink up to four glasses of this daily for two weeks. But, this is not for people suffering from High Blood pressure. People over the age of 60 are advised not to drink more than 3 glasses a day.
• Low-fat milk is good for uric acid. You can drink about 1-5 cups of skim milk every day.
• Avoid or minimize the intake of alcohol.
• Exercise regularly.

Follow these tips religiously, and joint pains and gout due to high Uric Acid Test levels, will soon be a thing of the past!