However, experts warn that prolonged increased uric acid in the blood, even if not causing pain, can still silently damage the kidneys, cardiovascular system and increase the risk of gout in the future.
According to experts, when the uric acid concentration in the blood exceeds the threshold of 420 micromol/liter in many tests, the excess uric acid will no longer completely dissolve in the blood but crystallize into sharp urate crystals. These crystals can deposit in joints, soft tissues and many other organs in the body.
In the early stages, patients may not have symptoms of pain. However, urate crystals still secretly accumulate and cause damage. In particular, people who simultaneously have high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes or kidney stones are considered high-risk groups and need to be monitored and controlled for uric acid more closely.
Experts emphasize that increased uric acid is the cause, while gout is the consequence. When encountering irritants such as drinking alcohol, cold weather or overwork, the immune system will react with urate crystals, causing acute gout attacks with manifestations of swelling, heat, redness, and severe pain in the joints.
The current goal of gout treatment is to control blood uric acid safely for a long time. For the majority of gout patients, uric acid levels should be maintained below 360 micromol/liter. In case of tophi granules or recurrent gout, the treatment target may be below 300 micromol/liter.
However, experts advise patients not to arbitrarily increase the dose of medication with the desire to lower uric acid as much as possible. Maintaining uric acid at a level that is too low for a long time can cause adverse effects on the nervous system. Therefore, it is important to control uric acid at the appropriate target threshold instead of chasing after indicators that are too low.
