Prevention of Gout:

Understanding the causes of gout, and following a strict diet  are an essential part of the overall treatment plan.

For example, you:

• should not eat foods that are very high in purine such as liver, kidneys and seafood (especially oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies), and certain vegetables (asparagus, beans, cauliflower, lentils, mushrooms, oatmeal and spinach) - ask your doctor or a dietitian for advice
• should not drink too much alcohol - especially beer, stout, port and fortified wines
• should eat a well-balanced diet and exercise to lose excess weight
• should drink up to two litres of water a day unless you have been advised not to

If you have repeat attacks of gout, there are also medicines that can help to prevent it.   Allopurinol, taken long-term daily, prevents gout by stopping the formation of uric acid from purines. You may also be given a medicine such as sulphinpyrazone (eg Anturan) to increase the amount of uric acid your kidneys remove from your blood. These medicines aren't used to treat an acute attack of gout and are usually prescribed afterwards to help prevent recurrent attacks.

Allopurinol may actually precipitate an attack of gout when it's first taken, because the level of urate will rise a bit before it falls. To help prevent this happening, your doctor may prescribe a Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) such as indomethacin or ibuprofen, or colchicine,or  sometimes even oral steroids alongside allopurinol for up to three months. You should make sure that you drink lots of fluids and take these medications with food in order to protect your gastrointestinal tract from drug induced irritation or ulcers.