Q: My uric acid is high. Due to that I have pain in my legs. I take ziloric 100 mg for this. Kindly advice me about the dosage and duration of the medicine.

A:There are some gross major misunderstandings among the lay public as well as among some of the doctors about the levels of uric acid in the blood and its significance in health and disease. In brief, high uric acid has nothing to do with any pain including leg pain. High uric acid is a 'red flag' (an indicator) of certain aspects of poor general health. Thus, high uric acid in the blood is generally associated with: 1. High cholesterol and high triglycerides. 2. Higher than normal chance of high blood pressure. 3. Higher than normal chance that the person is over weight and requires a change in his lifestyle to reduce weight. 4. Higher than normal chance that he would be or is likely to get diabetes. Therefore, those with high uric acid should: 1. Get seriously involved with weight reducing regimen consisting of regular aerobic exercises for 40 minutes every day and take a high fiber, low calorie diet. 2. They should also get the blood lipids analysed and if abnormal, contact the doctor to give advice. 3. They must also get their blood pressure and blood sugar checked as it is quite likely that some of these problems may be present in the body of those with high uric acid. By itself high blood level of uric acid does not need a separate medicine and 'Zyloric' is definitely NOT required for it, unless it is causing a condition that I am describing below: There are rare families where besides the problem of high uric acid, they have the problem of overweight, high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol etc. They may also have acute attacks of a condition that is characterised by acute red hot very painful swelling in a joint at the base of the big toe. It is familial (genetic) condition that is not very common. It is called gout. It should be accurately diagnosed (with the study of joint fluid that should demonstrate the presence of uric acid crystals) as its treatment is highly specialized and requires a specialist rheumatologist. On reading your short description it appears quite certain that you do not have the problem acute of gout. You simply have hyperuricaemia that so many people in the general population have. It simply requires a change in lifestyle as mentioned above.