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Why Test your Uric Acid?

Your doctor should be testing you every few months – more frequently if you have started a new treatment, changed diet, or some other change that might affect your uric acid level.

If you do not know the amount of uric acid in your blood (often called serum uric acid), make sure you arrange for a test today, and get the exact number – not an opinion such as high, normal or low.  Often, uric acid test results are described as normal when they are at a dangerous level for gout sufferers.

One complication of the results is that different testers use two different measurements. Conventional measurements are mg/dL, which is the most common. Some countries, especially in Europe, have adopted SI units which are either mmol/L or more commonly µmol/L (pronounced mewmol per liter or litre).

mg/dL

µmol/L

mmol/L

Note

Under 6

Under 350

Under .35

Good
This level will stop uric acid crystals forming and dissolve existing crystals

6 – 7

350 – 400

.35 – .40

Warning
Watch for numbness, tingling and skin redness, itching or flaking as well as usual gout flares.

Over 7

Over 400

Over .40

Bad
Risk of uric acid crystals forming – the higher the value, the greater the risk

 

Please remember that interpretation of your uric acid level test results should be done by a qualified medical practitioner, preferably a rheumatologist. You might consider supporting these “official” tests with your own interim uric acid level tests at home.

The values in the table are a rough guide. Some people can have quite high levels of uric acid yet never experience gout.

The values in each column have been rounded. The exact conversion is to multiply mg/dL by 59.48 for µmol/L, or divide µmol/L by 59.48 for mg/dL. For mmol/L, just divide by 1000. In your head, 60 or .06 is quite near enough for converting uric acid levels in different units.

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