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Conditions

Gout

Inflammation and swelling of a foot joint (Photo courtesy of Jerry Lawrence - Uncle Jerry - flickr)

Nineteenth century American humorist, Ambrose Bierce, defined gout in his Devil’s Dictionary as: “A physician’s name for the rheumatism of a rich patient.” Gout is a form of rheumatic arthritis characterised by recurrent episodes of joint inflammation, but it affects approximately one in 200 adults – most frequently men between 40-60 years of age – whether they are moneyed or not! At any rate, it’s painful. Sufferers have described the pain of an attack as “worse than childbirth” and like being jabbed with a “million tiny white-hot needles.” The pain and swelling of gout are caused by uric acid crystals that deposit in some joints, most notably the big toe, but can also strike the knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist and elbow. No longer just a “disease of kings”, people who are overweight, have high blood pressure, eat diets rich in protein and consume vast quantities of alcohol have an increased risk of developing gout. And it’s no laughing matter.

What the Men in White Coats Say

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Peter , that sounds like fallen arches underyour foot ive had the same problem for years,best way to strengthn them up again is to sit down and roll a golf ball under your foot, i know how painful it can be sitting down and getting up after a period of time or even getting up in the morning and trying to walk, other than that it also looks like ive gout my big to and right foot is swollen, can hardly walk on it ive shooting pains constantly,any advice or should i go to the gp? thanks in advance for your help.

Hi. I'm 28 and have been told by my local GP that I have gout. My big toe feels like I have banged it on something- After two months of not getting better, the pain coming and going I decided to get it checked out. It is not extremely painful as some people describe-Can it get worse or does it usually start bad?
I hardly drink alcohol and dont eat alot of red meat/seafood. I'm never ill and go to the gym- I'm 6"2 and 14 stone.
I work as a dental technician and use Methacrylate Monomer on a daily basis. The GP has told be also that my liver enzyme levels are high?
I have no family history of gout, am not overweight, eat correctly and work in a fairly well ventilated laboratory with extraction.

PLEASE HELP-I'm not sure what I can do to make this go away?

I'm not sure what I'm suffering from but my Right Ankle is twice the size than my Left. I have seen 6 Doctors and have had a operation to see why this is happening and no one can tell me whats wrong with me, a couple of them said it might be Gout, but I have had all the test, and nothing was wrong. My right foot is now a size 9 and my left is a size 8. I used to be a size 7 before all this happened. I tried to attach a photo but it didin' work

I keep getting intermittent sharp stabbing pains at the first joint in my big toe. There is no swelling and I have full movement. I am 5ft 6" and 10 stone, eat a reasonably balanced diet and moderate wine consumption (little beer). The pain is worse when resting. Even pain when sleeping. Could this be gout?

I have gout and have not been given any information on what food and drink to avoid orwhat food and drink will benefit. can anyone help. the pain is excrushiatingand I need information as too what to do to help

my symptons are like gout but i dont remember it starting in my toe it started in my ankle and the pain i get are excruitating start with my ankle and work the way upto my knee my right leg is worse then the left its swollen and very painful feels like its frozen, please help its driving me crazy especially when im at work

my left foot is numb across the balls of my feet and big toe it sort of burns when i drive my firms van pressing the clutch, the toe next to my little toe seems where the problem lies, had a nerve check at hostpital and an x ray they say nothing is wrong but i know there is,

hiya. i have extreme pain in left foot constantly. worse when sit down for 5 mins and try to stand again. cant flatten foot because extremely painfull.its sore 24/7. pain continues onto heel. wearing orthaheel insteps for about 2 months hoping it helps ease it but no change. please help if you can. takes so long to even stand up in morning from bed.

im 12 years old and have pain in my toes first thing in morning this happens to both my right and left foot but at seperate times it is only 2 middle toes that hurt.I end up having to walk downstairs on my heel so no pressure is on it.The good news is that it goes away in 10-15mintues but the next day happens again HELP PLEASE ??

I had a swelling under my right big toe 18 months ago, my local doctor advised it was gout, however, the only pain was when I tried to stand on my foot due to the swelling. After the swelling went down there was no pain at all, but this condition has left me with a tingling in my feet with the feeling of the base of my feet being slightly swollen from time to time, I have no medication, in good health, normal blood pressure and 62 years old. All the information on gout indicates severe pain, I have not had any pain, can anyone offer any explanation for this condition, I lead a normal life with the condition and would like to know why this just appeared, thank you.




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