| Causes and Symptoms: Gout is a disease of the | | | | part of the body, which is weaker than |
| joints and is a form of rheumatism. It is a | | | | others. That is how chronic diseases are |
| constitutional disorder connected with excess | | | | born. |
| of uric acid in the blood manifesting itself | | | | |
| by inflammation of joints with deposition of | | | | The real culprit is the type of food, which |
| urate of soda and also by morbid changes in | | | | we are addicted to. Our blood is chiefly |
| various important organs. | | | | alkaline and anything that tends to produce |
| | | | acidity should be avoided. Treating gout in |
| Hippo crates in his Aphorisms speaks of gout | | | | any other system is chaotic. The real cause |
| as occurring most commonly in spring and | | | | of the disease is not attack and recourse is |
| autumn, and mentions the facts that women are | | | | taken to painkillers or antidoting of the |
| less liable to it than men. Why the uric acid | | | | poison is under taken. The Ayurvedic |
| is found in excess is not understood by the | | | | practitioners prohibit the intake of fruits |
| allopathic physicians. Uric acid is formed in | | | | and vegetables on the plea that they may |
| the system in the process of nutrition and is | | | | produce cold, which is supposed to be bad for |
| excreted by the kidneys. In a patient | | | | the gout and thus deprive the patient of the |
| suffering from gout, the quantity of uric | | | | real cure. Doctors have some times advised |
| acid is found to be much more than normal. In | | | | patients to have their teeth or tonsils |
| a paroxysm of gout, the body appears to get | | | | extracted under the misconception that the |
| rid of a lot of uric acid and there appears | | | | seat of the disease lays there. But even the |
| to be some relied but that is purely | | | | excision of these has never led to any relief |
| temporary. | | | | to the gout patients. |
| | | | |
| Modern medicine believes gout to be | | | | Treatment:To real treatment of gout starts |
| hereditary since it has been found in 50 to | | | | with ensuring that all the orifices of the |
| 80 percent of the cases that the patient's | | | | body, which expel waste and morbid matter, |
| parents or grand parents suffered from the | | | | are activated to do their work properly. The |
| disease. The disease affects the sedentary | | | | patient should breathe fresh air, so that |
| persons more than those who lead active | | | | oxygen is available to him in larger |
| lives, but it is not always true. On the | | | | quantities cleansing his blood of poisonous |
| other hand, inadequate exercise, a luxurious | | | | humours. The gout patient must increase his |
| manner of living, habitual over-indulgence in | | | | intake of water to produce more urine. He |
| rich foods and especially in alcohol is the | | | | should take lukewarm water in the morning and |
| precipitating factors in the onset of the | | | | evening mixed with the juice of mine. The |
| disease. Some teetotalers and vegetarians are | | | | pores of the skin should be activated by a |
| also found to be victims of gout. | | | | cold bath every day and drying of the body |
| | | | with vigorous rubbing with the palms of the |
| The disease is more common in mature age and | | | | hand. If the pain in the joints is too severe |
| in the males than females. Persons exposed to | | | | and the patient is unable to massage his body |
| the influence of lead poisoning such as | | | | himself, he should seek somebody else's help. |
| plumbers, are apt to suffer from gout. | | | | Sun bathing should be undertaken to produce |
| Attacks of the disease are readily excited by | | | | sweat. The head may be covered with a wet |
| exposure to cold, disorders of indigestion, | | | | towel to save it from excessive heat of the |
| fatigue and injuries to particular joints. | | | | sun. Spending half an hour in the sun will |
| | | | activate the sweat glands. A cold bath is |
| An attack of gout may appear without warning, | | | | recommended after a sunbath; if the patient |
| or there may be premonitory symptoms. Among | | | | does not feel equal to it, he would be better |
| the most common of these are disorders of the | | | | advised to wipe his body with a wet towel. |
| digestive organs, with a feeble and | | | | Sun bathing should be done no more than |
| capricious appetite, flatulence, uneasiness | | | | thrice in a week. If there is no sun, sweat |
| in the right side in the region of the liver, | | | | should be induced by a steam bath or by |
| and irritation in the urinary organs. There | | | | merely soaking one's feet in hot water. |
| is also irritability, numbness and coldness | | | | |
| in the limbs. The attack comes usually at | | | | The food should consist of fresh fruits and |
| night, usually between two and three in the | | | | vegetables-substances, which do not stick to |
| morning. The affected part is found to be | | | | the intestines. Fruits, which can be taken |
| swollen and a deep red hue. The skin is tense | | | | without peeling, should be taken. In the |
| and glistening and the surrounding veins are | | | | beginning of the treatment, the best course |
| more or less distended. The attack lasts for | | | | would be to live on fruit juices. That would |
| a week or ten days during which the patient | | | | give some rest to the intestines. Fruits |
| suffers from constipation, dyspepsia and | | | | recommended are: oranges, grape fruit, |
| extreme thirst. The urine is scanty and high | | | | pineapple, raspberry and pear. Vegetables |
| coloured with a copious deposit, consisting | | | | like the various gourds, cabbage, tomatoes |
| chiefly of urates. The joint affected may | | | | and greens are the best. The more chronic the |
| become swollen but if the disease is not | | | | disease, the greater should be the period for |
| attended to, the swelling spreads to other | | | | which the patient should live on fruits and |
| joints and it becomes chronic. Joints also | | | | vegetables. |
| become enlarged and refuse to function | | | | |
| without giving excruciating pain to the | | | | After a five-day period during which only |
| sufferer. | | | | fruits and vegetables are taken, milk should |
| | | | be added to the diet. It should preferably be |
| Naturopathy believes that like all other | | | | boiled and taken in quantities of 250 to 500 |
| diseases, gout is the result of inadequate | | | | millilitres at one time. Bread should be |
| excretion of the morbid and poisonous matter | | | | taken only after a fortnight of living on |
| from the orifices of the body. The bowels, | | | | fruits and vegetables. Potatoes can replace |
| the urinary tract, the skin and the | | | | bread with advantages as they contain more |
| nostrils---all must expel the waste matter | | | | alkaline matter. |
| from the body. If they become slack and do | | | | |
| not function properly, those substances | | | | Hot fomentation should be undertaken to |
| accumulate in the body and produce gout. Life | | | | reduce the pain in the joints. About 75 |
| depends on healthy blood and nature has | | | | grammes of salt should be added to one litre |
| devised catarrh, diahrroea and fevers to | | | | of hot water for fomentation. The site of |
| force the human system to expel the | | | | fomentation should be washed with cold water |
| accumulated waste matter. If these diseases | | | | later on. Those who suffer from a constant |
| are suppressed, as happens in most case when | | | | pain should apply a paste of raw potatoes |
| the patient takes to allopathic treatment, | | | | ground fine on the affected joints. The paste |
| the poisonous and morbid matter attacks the | | | | should be allowed to remain for some hours. |