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How vividly I recall my English history lessons and in particular, the colorful life of Henry the Eight. It was perhaps the first time that I had heard about an illness called gout. I took three things away from that lesson; gout was painful, deadly and it was a rich man's disease. I have since grown to be older and wiser, and while there is still some truth to some of my assumptions, I know a lot more about gout today than I did then.

Gout or Metabolic Arthritis, results from a build up of uric acid. Uric acid is composed of nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. It is an organic compound found at normal levels in human blood. However, excessive accumulations of uric acid are linked to many medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and gout. A build up of uric acid in the bloodstream results in deposits of uric acid crystals on the articular cartilage of tendons and joints. . The patient would experience pain when the joints are moved, due to the crystal build up as well as pain from the inflamed surrounding areas.

Some risk factors for gout are:

Geographic Location: The highest incidences of gout are found in the pacific Islands and among the Maori people in New Zealand. In the United States, we find higher incidences, two to one, in African American males as compared to white males.
Age: Men between the ages of 50 and 60
Obesity
Consumption of protein rich foods, hence the labeling of Gout as a rich man's disease.
Diseases such as hypertension, renal disorders and diabetes.
Diuretics
Alcohol consumption

Symptoms of gout can be a painful awakening. A sudden searing pain appears to come out of the blue with no explainable reason. This pain would be accompanied by stiffness in the affected joint, swelling, redness and feelings of warmth in that area. In most cases, men would feel this pain in their toes while women feel the effects in other parts of the body. The pain can be made worse by the slightest of touch to the affected area. While, in the case of men, pain generally occurs in the big toe, other body parts are not exempt. Gout could manifest itself in the elbows, fingers, knees, wrist, ankle, heel and instep.

Because this is such a painful condition, treatment options are directed at relief foremost. Once the disease has been diagnosed, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are popular choices of prescription medicine. If you can't wait for a prescription there are some over the counter alternatives that appear to work well. Some recommendations

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