How does gout affect other health issues? What about hereditary? Here’s an interesting story.

Three brothers with the same congenital heart ailment are recovering from operations which, doctors say, promise them a normal life span. A team of surgeons from the University of Southern California School of Medicine corrected the condition, a narrowing of the aorta—main blood vessel of the heart. The narrow section was
excised and the artery rejoined, in each case. The brothers are Jerry, 8; Edward. 12. and Jerome Ruzicka, 18. They held a news conference Wednesday. Jerry said he told the school nurse one day that he never felt full of pep. She sent horn to a clinic. Family histories disclosed his brothers had had the same kind of faulty hearts since birth. 99 often laugh through sheer ignorance. This disease is gout, a malady which has had a far more important impact on our country than, say, those twin ailments of the advertising world — halitosis and athlete's foot. Those who laugh at gout might not be here at all except for the dreaming boldness of a gout sufferer. Between his pangs this man — Christopher Columbus — discovered America. Those who laugh at gout might not be Americans at all except for two more gout victims; consider gout and health? One was the brilliant English orator, William Pitt. It is said: that only an attack of gout prevented him from stopping passage of the Stamp Act, a measure that speeded the American Revolution. The other was Benjamin Franklin, whose diplomatic genus despite "his throbs of gout did so much to win American freedom and establish our national unity. Those who laugh at gout do so in the belief that it is a heaven-sent penalty for high living. The truth is that gout is an inheritable metabolic disorder, a form of arthritis that afflicts more suspected sinners than known saints only because at any one time the world usually holds many sinners, few saints.

Gout, which is manifested by painful deposits in the joints and body cartilage and accompanied by a high uric acid content in the blood, is one of the oldest disease; known to man. It was accurately described by Hippocrates, the "father of medicine," and others as early as the 5th century, B C. As early as the 17th century Thomas Sydenham, 'the English Hippocrates," classified gout as a form of arthritis and gave his view that victims "have received ill seeds of the disease from their parents by inheritance." The general image of a man with the gout was that of a fat red-faced English lord lying in bed with a heavily bandaged foot propped up on a pillow, a wretch who screamed in agony if even
a fly landed on the bandage. For a couple of centuries thousands of high-minded men suffered the torture! of gout in secret and silence rather than admit they had a malady others thought comic. Today, say Drs. Lockie and Cooper, gout is the one form of arthritis that can be easily managed by medicine and diet.

So if you want to become the first man in your neighbourhood with a distinctive disease, never mind bragging about your ulcer. Ulcers are commonplace. Gout is the thing – it’s not about health anymore. Gout is becoming fashionable as well as respectable. The guy with gout may also have genius in his genes; the guy who still laughs at gout proves he is

Disease Called Gout - Is No Laughing Matter By HAL BOYLE NEW YORK (AP)

There’s been many studies about gout and diets. And some practitioners recommend sufferers consume foods with low purine levels because this may help keep uric acid levels down in their bodies.

To a degree there’s some anecdotal evidence to support this. Numerous gout sufferers have noted that the disease may get worse when they eat red meats or drink beer/lager, and consuming foods low in purined seem to help prevent or reduce the number of attacks.

Comment:

Hey guys, cracking site! Gout is a terrible disease when it attacks, I hate it! I’ve had gout 10 years, and it still affects me today. My wife makes me a hot bath when my foot plays up from gout, then a nice massage – very nice. My symptoms seem to get worse after big meals so I try to eat foods in low purine levels. Like me, I would suggest other sufferers learn as much as they can about this disorder – it helps. Well, helped me! I appreciate what you have done, I’m sure many others do too. Miss Richards

Colchicine is a traditional treatment for gout dating back to 1700/1800s. However, recent research has shown that there numerous side-affects associated with taking this drug, including:

• Nausea;
• Severe anemia;
• Vomiting;
• Diarrhoea.

So, nowadays, other drugs with less risks are often used instead. Although in extreme cases it still may be administered intravenously.

Comment:

Impressive and useful - makes a change these days. I don't think headaches are associated with gout, but I get them. A central message from all the experts I’ve spoken to is, learn to live with it, so I don’t take drugs like colchicine. Tingling feeling in my shoulders are the first signs of a gout attack for me. I wonder how many sufferers get fever related to their disorder too - I do a lot! I linked here from an arthritis website. Look forward to visiting your site again. Jay

If you suffer from gout share your personal story below and we will include it on this website. We've received dozens already!

Simply tell us how long you have suffered from gout, how it affects you, your partner, family, work, etc. Also, what therapies you have tried and what worked and what didn't.

You can include your name, a pen-name or type in 'anonymous' if you wish.