I can recall a conversation among adults once when I was a child concerning a family member of some friends of my parents.
I can vividly remember them discussing his big toe and that he couldn't even bear the weight of a sheet on top of it.
While I didn't understand the disease at all, I can remember being confused and a little frightened about a medical condition that could hurt so much.
Known as a "rich man's disease," gout is a form of arthritis whose symptoms tend to present suddenly and without warning, the first attack typically being the joint below the big toe.
Gout gives pain continuously for many hours, sometime even up to 24 hours.
Gout's symptoms are as follows red, tender, swollen and hot joints, ligaments and tendons of the toes, feet, hands, ankles and knees.
Generally, people who are attacked by gout will be in pain for many days and in some cases the pain will for many weeks.
After the first attack, it will follow up it with more regular attacks, with more pain and this time on more joints.
Gout is a result of having too much uric acid in the blood.
Sharp crystals build up in the joints, ligaments and/or tendons, which result in the above mentioned symptoms.
In some cases, too little uric acid can cause the same symptoms.
After menopause, women seems to get this condition at regular interval.
When compared men are known to be attacked frequently by gout than women.
And men tend to suffer the attack at younger age.
What puts one at risk for gout? Sometimes (less than 15%) of cases are due to lifestyle.
Alcohol consumption can impair the kidney's ability to remove excess uric acid.
Additionally, eating organ meat (especially red meat) and seafood can contribute to higher levels of uric acid.
Gout can also be brought on by other medical conditions, the main one being high blood pressure, or hypertension.
Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) and hyperlipidemia (high amounts of fat and cholesterol in the blood) and diabetes can also contribute to gout.
Gout is also a result of obesity and sedentary lifestyle.
Alternatively obesity also contributes to high blood pressure and diabetes.
Medicines are advised when the first attack happens, there also medicines to prevent the following attack.
But if a person is not willing to take medicines due to the side effects then changing the lifestyle is the best thing to do.
Whether to prevent a recurrence of gout and to improve your overall health, it's important that you not let your high blood pressure go untreated.
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