About this information
This NHS content is written for people in England. Medicine names, availability, prescribing and services may differ in other countries.
Colchicine is a medicine for treating inflammation and pain. It works by reducing the inflammation caused by the crystals of uric acid that build up in your joints when you have gout. This also helps to reduce pain.
It can be used to:
- treat gout
- prevent gout from coming back when you first start on long-term medicines like allopurinol
- prevent symptoms of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an inherited inflammatory condition
Colchicine is available on prescription. It comes as tablets.
View the original NHS website page ↗. Refreshed 19 August 2026.
Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 ↗. MyPHU is independent and is not endorsed by the NHS.