Uric acid is produced when the purines in the body are broken down naturally. It is a chemical that can be found dissolved in the blood and ends up in your urine.
High uric acid levels in the body will cause sickness and discomfort. It can lead to several health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, gout, and the Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome.
On the other hand, when uric acid level is found below the natural amount that the body should have, it will also cause several complications. Multiple sclerosis is one of the major diseases associated with low uric acid levels.
Let’s look at some of the diseases you may get with continuous high uric acid levels in the body.
Hyperuricemia, which is the medical term for high uric acid levels in the blood and kidney, may lead to gout or stones in the urinary tract. There are other medical conditions that result from high uric acid, but these two are the most common.
Gout
Gout has patients having sudden and immediate attacks of swelling and pain in the joints. The joints can also experience redness, tenderness and warmth when having a gout attack.
It mostly affects the joints in the feet, like the big toe and the ankles. But it can also be apparent in the knees, wrists and elbows.
This is a kind of arthritis and it affects more men than women. It is caused by high levels of uric acid in purine metabolism. Gout can also be caused because some people do not have the ability to lose the uric acid in their urine.
Stones in the urinary tract
Stones in the urinary tract occur when there are high levels of uric acid concentration in urine that is also acidic. These stones are a common origin for radiolucent kidney stones especially in children.
When the urine is acidic or has low pH levels, the high concentration of uric acid reacts to form a solid crystal. These crystals are not easily passed when urinating and can sometimes cause more complicated kinds of stones.
This is more common again in men than in women and can lead to more severe kidney complications if untreated.