Well crap. Got the senior flu shot Friday; figured it would boost the immune system in these trying times. Got up this morning (Sunday) with an inflamed left instep. I google flu shot/gout and crapola. The shot will crank up an immune response and arthritic joints don’t like inflammation. Not too severe, Aleve seems to help and things loosen up with some walking. Hopefully I’ll avoid the shots this time (actually Toradol is a great tool). Back to a lower purine diet. Glad we’re at the kids; cars have auto transmissions, don’t have to work the clutch with the left paw.
I was curious about this because while I don’t have gout, I have lupus arthritis. I googled “flu vaccine and gout,” and found this study in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine.). Was that the one you found? Before I could read very far, a pop-up appeared that was a letter to the editor of that journal. The author, a medical researcher in China had this to say, in part:
The authors commented that the benefits of vaccinations on individual persons and public health are enormous, so rejecting vaccination out of fear of an increased risk of gout attacks is not advisable, as the benefit outweighs the risk.
A preliminary analysis using the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program reported that among people age 65 and older, the incidence rate of a gout attack within 30 days of vaccination was similar between the vaccination group and the nonvaccination group (0.05 vs. 0.05 per 1,000 person-days, 95% confidence interval 0.73-1.57; P=.735). The authors commented that at least older people were not at increased risk of a gout attack after influenza vaccination.
He called for further investigation.
So maybe this was just an unfortunate coincidence? Hope the gout resolves soon. I hear it’s pretty unpleasant.
It’s been years since I had a gout attack. I drink a ton of beer, eat lots of red meat, mussels, anchovies, pretty much everything I shouldn’t eat. The only thing I do is drink gallons of water every day.
Saw same study and others. No plans to skip the flu shots now or in the future. Respiratory disease is a killer for us old farts. Anti-inflammatory Aleve is doing the trick. Still swollen a bit but getting around fine now a day later.
This is the answer for gout sufferers (like me). It has been a few years since my last flareup, and I, too, have not really modified my diet all that much. The main mitigating activity, for me at least, is drinking lots of water every day. And on days when I may be doing something risky for the gout (sardines, meaty meals), I pay even more attention to the water intake.
I did not know the flu shot could be a trigger, so will be mindful of water intake that day as well.
I can of at least one more thing you must do every day…
Definitely one at least, #2 refers to objects not yet in evidence.
And several times each night.