Preventing future gout attacks

Once your gout has been treated, you have to take steps to make sure that it never attacks again, or at least to make sure that they attacks will happen less frequently. There are gout medications you can take to help maintain or lower uric acid levels in the body, such as Allopurinol (Zyloprim®), Probenecid (Benemid®), Sulfinpyrazone (Anturane®), Febuxostat (Uloric®). It is not advisable for these medicines to be taken in the middle of a chronic gout attack, and should instead be taken once the condition has been treated. Of course, you should remember that you shouldn't just rely on medication to keep your uric acid levels down. You should also take an active part by avoiding purine-rich foods and by drinking more water to dilute uric acid in the body. If there is a way for you to avoid having to develop high uric acid levels without medication, then you should give that a try.