GOUT

Causes and Symptoms

Gout is a disease of the joints and is a form of rheumatism. It is a constitutional disorder connected with excess of uric acid in the blood manifesting itself by inflammation of joints with depo­sition of urate of soda and also by morbid changes in various important organs.

Hippocrates in his Aphorisms speaks of gout as occurring most commonly in spring and autumn, and mentions the fact that women are less liable to it than men. Why the .uric acid is found in excess IS not un­derstood by the allopathic physicians. Uric acid is for­
med in the system in the process of nutrition and is ex­creted by the kidneys. In a patient suffering from gout, the quantity of uric acid is found to be much more than normal. In a paroxysm of gout, the body appears to get rid of a lot of uric acid and there appears to be some relief but that is purely temporary.

Modern medicine believes gout to be hereditary since it has been found in 50 to 80 per cent of the cases that the patients' parents or grandparents suffered from the disease. The disease affects the sedentary persons more than those who lead active lives, but it is not always true. On the other hand, inadequate exercise, a luxurious manner of living, habitual over-indulgence in rich foods and especially in alcohol are the precipitating factors in the onset of the disease. Some teetotallers and vegetarians are also found to be victims of gout.

The disease is more common in mature age and in males than females. Persons exposed to the influence of lead poisoning such as plumbers, are apt to suffer from gout. Attacks of the disease are readily excited by exposure to cold, disorders of indigestion, fatigue and injuries to particular joints.

An attack of gout may appear without .warning, or there may be premonitory symptoms. Among the most common of these are disorders of the digestive organs, with a feeble and capricious appetite, flatulence, un­easiness in the right side in the region of the liver, and irritation in the urinary organs. There is also irritabi­lity, numbness and coldness in the limbs. The attack comes usually at night, usually between two and three in the morning. The affected part is found to be swollen and of a deep red hue. The skin is tense and glis­tening and the surrounding veins are more or less dis­tended. The attack lasts for a week or ten days during which the patient suffers from constipation, dyspepsia and extreme thirst. The urine is scanty and high colored with a copious deposit, consisting chiefly of ura­tes. The joint affected may become swollen but if the disease is not attended to, the swelling spreads to other joints and it becomes chronic. Joints also become enlarged and refuse to function without giving excruci­ating pain to the sufferer.

Naturopathy believes that like all other diseases, gout is the result of inadequate excretion of the morbid and poisonous matter from the orifices of the body. The bowels, the urinary tract, the skin and the nostrils -all must expel the waste matter from the body. If they become slack and do not function properly, those sub­stances accumulate in the body and produce gout. Life depends on healthy blood and nature has devised cat­arrh, diahrroea and fevers to force the human system to expel the accumulated waste matter. If these 'diseases are suppressed, as happens in most cases when the pat­ient takes to allopathic treatment, the poisonous and morbid matter attacks the part of the body which is wea­ker than others. That is’ how chronic diseases are born.

The real culprit is the type of food which we are addicted to. Our blood is chiefly alkaline and anything that tends to produce acidity should be avoided. Trea­ting gout in any other system is chaotic. The real cause of the disease is not attacked and recourse is taken to pain killers or antidoting of the poison is undertaken. The Ayurvedic practitioners prohibit the intake of fruits and vegetables on the plea that they may produce cold which is supposed to be bad for the gout and thus de. prove the patient of the real cure. Doctors have some. times ~advised patients to have their teeth or tonsils extracted under the misconception that the seat of the disease lies there. But even the excision of these has never led to any relief to the gout patients.

Treatment

The real treatment of gout starts with ensuring that all the orifices of the body which expel waste and morbid matter are activated to do their work properly. The patient should breathe fresh air, so that oxygen is available to him in larger quantities cleansing his blood of poisonous humours. The gout patient must increase his intake of water to produce more urine. He should take lukewarm water in the morning and evening mixed with the juice of lime. The pores of the skin should be activated by a cold bath every day and drying of the body with vigorous rubbing with the palms of the hand. If the pain in the joints)s too severe and the patient is unable to massage his body himself, he should seek somebody else's help. Sun bathing should be undertaken to produce sweat. The head may be covered with a wet towel to save it from excessive heat of the sun. Spending half an hour in the sun will activate the sweat glands. A cold bath is recommend. ended after a sun. bath; if the patient does not feel equal to it, he would be better advised to wipe his body with a wet towel. Sun-bathing should be done no more than thrice in a week. If there is no sun, sweat should be induced by a steam bath or by merely soaking one'! feet in hot water.

The food should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables-substances which do not stick to the intestines. Fruits which can be taken without peeling should be taken. In the beginning of the treatment, the best course would be to 'live on fruit juices. That would give some rest to the intestines. Fruits recommended are: oranges, grape fruit, pine apple, raspberry and pear. Vegetables like the various gourds, cabbage, tomatoes and greens are the best. The more chronic the disease, the greater should be the period for which the patient should live on fruits and vegetables.

After a five - day period during which only fruits and vegetables are taken, milk should be added to the diet. It should preferably be boiled and take milk quan­tities of 250 to 500 milliliters at one time. Bread should be taken only after a fortnight of living on fruits and vegetables. Potatoes can replace bread with advan­tage as they contain more alkaline matter.

Hot fomentation should be undertaken to reduce the pain in the joints. About 75 grammes of salt should be added to one litre of hot water for fomentation.

The site of fomentation should be washed with cold water later on. Those who suffer from a constant pain should apply a paste of raw potatoes ground fine on the affected joints. The paste should be allowed to remain for some hours.