Gout Treatment
Gout is a form of arthritis caused by urate crystals forming in and around a joint, and it can flare suddenly with severe pain and swelling. Which medicine helps depends on whether the aim is to settle a flare that has already started or to keep urate low so flares happen less often.
Colchicine Tablets
0.5mg
Formulated to alleviate severe uric acid-induced joint pain to support mobility and target neutrophil-mediated articular inflammation.
Key points
- Gout causes sudden, severe pain, swelling and redness when urate crystals form in and around a joint.
- NICE treats settling a flare and lowering urate over the long term as two separate goals in gout care.
- CDC notes that a raised uric acid level on its own does not mean a person has gout.
Medicines for a flare
Colchicine Tablets contain colchicine, used for a gout flare and, separately, for familial Mediterranean fever. NICE lists colchicine among the options while a flare is active, distinct from the medicines used once it has settled.
Medicines that lower urate over time
Zyloprim contains allopurinol and Uloric contains febuxostat, both taken continuously to bring uric acid down rather than to ease pain during an attack. Benemid contains probenecid, used for gouty arthritis and hyperuricaemia and, separately, alongside penicillin treatment. NICE discusses allopurinol and febuxostat as long-term options once a flare has settled. The UAE’s Emirates Drug Establishment lists Zyloprim’s ingredient, allopurinol, under the Zyloric 100 mg brand name.
A high uric acid reading is not the same as gout
CDC points out that a raised uric acid level does not by itself mean a person has gout, since many people with high levels never develop symptoms. NICE bases the diagnosis on joint symptoms, with a uric acid test supporting rather than replacing that judgement.