Gout, a painful, arthritis-like condition, is caused by uric
acid crystals building up in the joint, causing inflammation.  An attack of acute gout often begins at night
and lasts three or more days.  Initially,
acute attacks will occur about every four months.  As attacks become more frequent, more joints
may become affected.  If treatment is
neglected, the attacks intensify in pain and frequency and damage may become
permanent.

Symptoms:

  • Inflammation usually only occurs in one or two
    joints, typically the big toe, but sometimes also ankles and knees, hands, and
    elbows.[1] [2]
  • Warm, red, severely painful joints, with the toe
    being so affected that even a bedsheet touching it is painful. [3] [4]
  • Fever[5]
  • Episodic repeat attacks (about half of patients)
    that are all or none in nature [6] [7] 

After multiple attacks, the damage becomes permanent and
range of motion in the joint diminishes. 
Lumps, “tophi”, may appear below the skin surface around the
joints.  And they may drain chalky fluid
on occasion.  [8]

Chronic gout generally affects the joints in the foot, but
not to the degree of an acute gout attack. 
Chronic gout may develop into arthritis. 

Risk factors:

  • Diabetes[9]
  • Family history[10]
  • Male (about 95% of patients)[11] [12]
  • Obesity[13]
  • Poor diet[14] (historically called the “rich
    man’s disease” because only the wealthy could regularly consume meat.
  • Some medications, especially diuretics[15]
  • Some types of kidney stones[16]  
  • Winter[17] (lower temperatures
    facilitate precipitation of the uric acid crystals from the synovial fluid)

Prevention:

  • Avoid alcohol[18] [19]
  • Avoid high-fat foods[20] [21]
  • Drink plenty of fluids[22]
  • Eat adequate amounts of carbohydrates[23]
  • Reduce meat consumption[24] [25]
  • Reduce the consumption of foods high in uric
    acid (liver, herring, sardines, kidney beans, peas, mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower)[26]
  • Increase vitamin C intake[26a]

Conditions which may be confused with gout:

  • Fractures
  • Joint infection
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sprains
  • Trauma

Treatment:

  • Acute gout
    • 800 mg ibuprofen, 3x per day[27]
    • 500 mg naproxen, 2x per day[28]
    • Gentle soaking in warm water[29]
  •  Chronic gout
    • Allopurinol
  • All gout
    • Drink 8-10 glasses of water per day to flush the
      uric acid from the kidneys.
    • Avoid walking
    • Take caffeine
    • Eat dark-colored fruits—cherries, blackberries,
      purple grapes[30]

Gout can be extremely debilitating.  If there is a family history of gout, it
would be a great idea to increase the stockpile of OTC NSAIDs, OTC stomach acid
reducers like Pepcid or Prilosec, and caffeine and dark colored berries and
cherries.  The herbs listed in the links
below have also been successfully used for generations to treat gout.

Links to related
posts:

OTC Pain
Relievers

Baking Soda

Black Pepper

Caffeine

Catnip

Cayenne

Dandelion

Epsom Salts

Honeysuckle

Juniper

Parsley

Purslane

Red
Raspberry

Sunflower


[1]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[2]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[3]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[4]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[5]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[6]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[7]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[8]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[9]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[10]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[11]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[12]
The Ship’s Medicine Chest, 1978, 197.

[13]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[14]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[15]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[16]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[17]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 353.

[18]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[19]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[20]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[21]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[22]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[23]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[24]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[25]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[26]
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 395.

[26a]  HK Choi, et al., Vitamin C Intake and the Risk of Gout in Men: A Prospective Study,
Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009, Vol 169 No
5,https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/414828
(accessed 2 February 2022).

[27]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[28]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[29]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 355.

[30]
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 357.