Gout Cures - Is There Such a Thing?

GOUT?   What Is It??

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis (gouty arthritis) characterised by pain and swelling of the joints, specifically causing big toe pain. Gout pain and inflammation occur because of the buildup of uric acid in the blood. Normally, excessive uric acid filters through the kidneys and is passed in the urine. This might happen if the body itself produces excess uric acid (hereditary) or fails to eliminate the excess uric acid brought on by eating foods that cause gout, specifically those high in purines. As a rule, This causes crystals of sodium urate to become concentrated in the joints and tendons, causing swelling, pressure, and extreme pain.

Who is Most Likely to Have an Attack?

Men, especially those who carry excess weight or suffer from hypertension, are more likely to begin having attacks of gout between the ages of 30 and 50, whereas for most women, gout won't show up until after menopause. Children and young adults rarely suffer from a gout attack.

Historic Gout Cures

Gout "cures" have ranged over the years from blood-letting to doing a toxic cleanse by drinking asses' milk. Now they say if you want to avoid gout, alcohol is bad, and restricting alcohol consumption is advised but, at one time, Gin was thought to be one of many gout cures that, over time, have proved ineffective.

A Brief Timeline of Gout

The characteristics of gout were first described by Acharya Charaka circa 3000 BC as the disease Vata Rakta and likened the pain to slowly spreading rat poison, starting with the toes. His text, Charaka Samhita is one of three major classics of Ayurveda, and deals with medicine and non-surgical methods of Ayurvedic treatment. Gouty arthritis of the big toe was mentioned by the Egyptians in 2600 BC. Hippocrates, the esteemed Greek physician, also talked about gout and, in 30 AD, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, one of the greatest Roman medical writers, and author of de medicina, linked gout causes with urinary solute, late onset in women, a connection to alcohol consumption, and the aforementioned gout cure using asses' milk. Galen, the Roman gladiatorial surgeon, in approximately 200 AD, described gout as the unbalanced discharge of the four humors of the body into the joints. The actual term "gout" is from the Latin word "gutta" which means "a drop", usually of liquid, and was first called thus by Randolphus of Bocking in 1200 AD. The microscopic urate crystals were described by Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1679 and by 1848, English physician Alfred Baring Garrod came to the conclusion that an excess of uric acid in the blood was the main gout cause, leading to the gout crystals.

Even the Dinosaurs?

If you suffer from gout, and are searching for a cure, be comforted by the fact that the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen known as "Sue" appears to have suffered from gout also.