When and why should we have a uric acid test

Know about uric acid

Uric acid is a waste product formed when purines are broken down in the body. Nitrogen is a major constituent of purines and they are found in many foods and drinks, including alcohol.

When cells reach the end of their lifespan they are broken down and removed from the body and this process releases uric acid. During digestion or cell breakdown, the uric acid produced travels in the bloodstream to the kidneys where it is filtered out of the blood and excreted from the body in urine. However, some individuals produce too much uric acid or the kidneys don’t remove enough and this leads to a build up in the body, resulting in hyperuricaemia. The build up of uric acid may signal kidney disease or lead to conditions such as gout.

When should we have a uric acid test

The accumulation of uric acid in the body is usually a long-term process, and there will be no obvious symptoms in the early stage, but when the accumulation of uric acid reaches a certain level, your body will have some symptoms to remind you to be alert to this harmful substance.

The two main symptoms of high uric acid is kidney stones and gout。

Have symptoms of gout. Symptoms usually happen in one joint at a time. The big toe is most commonly affected, but your other toes, ankle, or knee may have symptoms, which include:

Intense pain

Swelling

Redness

Feeling warm

Have symptoms of a kidney stone, including:

Sharp pain in your lower abdomen (belly), side, groin or back

Blood in your urine

Frequent urge to urinate (pee)

Not being able to urinate at all or only urinating a little bit

Pain when urinating

Cloudy or bad-smelling urine

Nausea and vomiting

Fever and chills

When the above symptoms appear, you should know that it is time to do a uric acid test to understand your physical condition. Take corresponding treatment measures according to the test results.

The way to have a uric acid test

At the same time, in the follow-up treatment process, regular test of your uric acid level will help you to understand your physical condition better, and you can adjust the treatment methods in time according to the test results, so as to achieve better treatment effect. Usually, you don’t need any special preparations for a uric acid blood test. Therefore, a simple way to support daily uric acid test is important and needed. The ACCUGENCE ® Multi-Monitoring System can provide a convenient and simple uric acid test method and accurate test results, which are sufficient to support the daily monitoring needs during the treatment process.