What Is Gout?

Gout is a painful condition that occurs when the bodily waste product uric acid is deposited as needle-like crystals in the joints and/or soft tissues. In the joints, these uric acid crystals cause inflammatory arthritis, which in turn leads to intermittent swelling, redness, heat, pain, and stiffness in the joints.

In many people, gout initially affects the joints of the big toe (a condition called podagra). But many other joints and areas around the joints can be affected in addition to or instead of the big toe. These include the insteps, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows. Chalky deposits of uric acid, also known as tophi, can appear as lumps under the skin that surrounds the joints and covers the rim of the ear. Uric acid crystals can also collect in the kidneys and cause kidney stones.

What Is Uric Acid?

Uric acid is a substance that results from the breakdown of purines. A normal part of all human tissue, purines are found in many foods. Normally, uric acid is dissolved in the blood and passed through the kidneys into the urine, where it is eliminated.

If there is an increase in the production of uric acid or if the kidneys do not eliminate enough uric acid from the body, levels of it build up in the blood (a condition called hyperuricemia). Hyperuricemia also may result when a person eats too many high-purine foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, anchovies, and gravies. Hyperuricemia is not a disease, and by itself it is not dangerous. However, if excess uric acid crystals form as a result of hyperuricemia, gout can develop. The crystals form and accumulate in the joint, causing inflammation.

What Are the Four Stages of Gout?

Gout can progress through four stages:

1. Asymptomatic (without symptoms) hyperuricemia. In this stage, a person has elevated levels of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia), but no other symptoms. Treatment is usually not required.
2. Acute gout, or acute gouty arthritis. In this stage, hyperuricemia has caused the deposit of uric acid crystals in joint spaces. This leads to a sudden onset of intense pain and swelling in the joints, which also may be warm and very tender. An acute attack commonly occurs at night and can be triggered by stressful events, alcohol or drugs, or the presence of another illness. Attacks usually subside within 3 to 10 days, even without treatment, and the next attack may not occur for months or even years. Over time, however, attacks can last longer and occur more frequently.
3. Interval or intercritical gout. This is the period between acute attacks. In this stage, a person does not have any symptoms.
4. Chronic tophaceous gout. This is the most disabling stage of gout. It usually develops over a long period, such as 10 years. In this stage, the disease may have caused permanent damage to the affected joints and sometimes to the kidneys. With proper treatment, most people with gout do not progress to this advanced stage.

What Causes Gout?

According to conventional medicine, a

 number of risk factors are associated with hyperuricemia and gout. They include:

• Genetics. Many people with gout have a family history of the disease. Estimates range from 20 to 80 percent.
• Gender and age. It is more common in men than in women and more common in adults than in children.
• Weight. Being overweight increases the risk of developing hyperuricemia and gout because there is more tissue available for turnover or breakdown, which leads to excess uric acid production.
• Alcohol consumption. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to hyperuricemia, because alcohol interferes with the removal of uric acid from the body.
• Diet. Eating too many foods that are rich in purines can cause or aggravate gout in some people. (High-Purine Foods)
• Lead exposure. In some cases, exposure to lead in the environment can cause gout.
• Other health problems. Renal insufficiency, or the inability of the kidneys to eliminate waste products, is a common cause of gout in older people. Other medical problems that contribute to high blood levels of uric acid include:
  • high blood pressure
  • hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland)
  • conditions that cause an excessively rapid turnover of cells, such as psoriasis, hemolytic anemia, or some cancers
  • Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, two rare conditions in which the enzyme that helps control uric acid levels either is not present or is found in insufficient quantities.
• Medications. A number of medications may put people at risk for developing hyperuricemia and gout. They include:
  • Diuretics, which are taken to eliminate excess fluid from the body in conditions like hypertension, edema, and heart disease, and which decrease the amount of uric acid passed in the urine
  • Salicylate-containing drugs, such as aspirin
  • Niacin, a vitamin also known as nicotinic acid
  • Cyclosporine, a medication that suppresses the body’s immune system (the system that protects the body from infection and disease). This medication is used in the treatment of some autoimmune diseases, and to prevent the body’s rejection of transplanted organs.
  • Levodopa, a medicine used to support communication along nerve pathways in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Who Is Likely to Develop Gout?

Scientists estimate that 6 million adults age 20 and older report having had gout at some time in their lives. It is rare in children and young adults. Men, particularly those between the ages of 40 and 50, are more likely to develop gout than women, who rarely develop the disorder before menopause. People who have had an organ transplant are more susceptible to gout.

How Is Gout Diagnosed?

Gout may be difficult for doctors to diagnose because the symptoms can be vague, and gout often mimics other conditions. Although most people with gout have hyperuricemia at some time during the course of their disease, it may not be present during an acute attack. In addition, having hyperuricemia alone does not mean that a person will get gout. In fact, most people with hyperuricemia do not develop the disease.

To confirm a diagnosis of gout, a doctor may insert a needle into an inflamed joint and draw a sample of synovial fluid, the substance that lubricates a joint. The joint fluid is placed on a slide and examined under a microscope for uric acid crystals. Their absence, however, does not completely rule out the diagnosis.

The doctor also may find it helpful to look for uric acid crystals around joints to diagnose gout. Gout attacks may mimic joint infections, and a doctor who suspects a joint infection (rather than gout) may also culture the joint fluid to see whether bacteria are present.

Conventional Treatment For Gout

Conventional medicine treats gout with one or a combination of therapies. The goals of treatment are to ease the pain associated with acute attacks, to prevent future attacks, and to avoid the formation of tophi and kidney stones. Successful treatment can reduce discomfort caused by the symptoms of gout, as well as long-term damage to the affected joints. Treatment will help to prevent disability due to gout.

The most common treatments for an acute attack of gout are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken orally (by mouth), or corticosteroids, which are taken orally or injected into the affected joint. NSAIDs reduce the inflammation caused by deposits of uric acid crystals, but have no effect on the amount of uric acid in the body.

Corticosteroids are strong anti-inflammatory hormones. The most commonly prescribed corticosteroid is prednisone. Some patients may begin to improve within a few hours of treatment with a corticosteroid, and the attack usually goes away completely within a week or so. However, steroid are addictive and very dangerous as they can cause liver damage and malfunction of the adrenal glands, diabetes, high blood pressure, acne, cataracts, increased appetite, weight gain, swelling, high blood pressure, and the list goes on and on.

When conventional doctors find that NSAIDs or corticosteroids do not control symptoms, the doctor may consider using colchicine. This drug can cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and even death. For some patients, the doctor may prescribe either NSAIDs or oral colchicine in small daily doses to prevent future attacks. The doctor also may consider prescribing medicine such as allopurinol, probenecid, or febuxostat to treat hyperuricemia and reduce the frequency of sudden attacks and the development of tophi.

The Dangers of Conventional Drug Therapies

The traditional treatment for gout involves drugs. Lots of dangerous drugs. But did you know that aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs can put you in the hospital or under the ground! Every doctor who was awake during medical classes in college knows the dangers of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). They know for example, that aspirin causes the lining of the stomach to bleed and that it burns tiny holes into your gastrointestinal tract. You may lose up to one teaspoon of blood each time you take a standard dose of aspirin (more if you are at risk for bleeding or consume more than the standard dose) Sadly, the reality is that NSAIDs do more than just cause gastrointestinal problems. They kill over 10,000 people a year and are the cause of over 76,000 hospitalizations annually.

According to author, Dr. Earl Mindell, NSAIDs interfere with the body’s ability to repair cartilage. And research has shown that they accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis. Says Mindell, “Even if NSAIDs didn’t cause such serious problems, they can cause a more subtle condition called “leaky gut”. This is a condition that causes tiny holes to erode the intestinal wall, allowing partly digested food and toxins to enter into the bloodstream.” Of course, once these wastes and toxins breach the intestinal wall, your immune system begins attacking them. This puts tremendous stress on the immune system. This leaky gut condition then sets the stage for the development of other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and asthma.

Alternative Approach to this Disease:

According to naturopaths, gout is typically characterized by pain and tenderness in the big toe on each foot. In fact, in chronic cases the big toe may become deformed. In addition, this condition can lead to kidney disease and kidney stones. The good news is that natural medicine practitioners offer a protocol that specifically treats this condition. See protocol below.

Order The Ultimate 7 Day Cure to find out more.