Instead of banging pots and pans and lighting off firecrackers for the New Year, or should I say dancing in the ball room and bibbing wine from his goblet, King Henry VIII during the festivities in 1541 spent his time in bed and apart from his 5^th wife Catherine Howard. According to historians King Henry VIII slunked off to bed with an acute presentation of Gout which often presents with enough pain and heat in the affected area that even bed sheets may seem too much for comfort.

           Likewise, the patient I recently helped treat at a local ER as part of my 3^rd year rotation presented with these exact symptoms in his big toe (the most common joint affected in the body) and was diagnosed with Acute Gouty Arthritis after a few tests showed positive results.           

           Tests look for an elevated uric acid blood level and monosodium urate crystals in the joint fluid (examined under a special light microscope).

            Precipitating factors of gout include:

                        -High purine foods

·         All meats, including organ meats and seafood

·         Beer and other alcoholic beverages

·         Beans, peas, spinach, asparagus and mushrooms

                        -Obesity

-Genetics

                        -Kidney disease

                        -Thiazide and Loop diuretics

                        -Males (20:1 M:F ratio)

                        -Age > 30 in males; postmenopause in females

*For treatment modalities and other information click the button "Patient Education" on the home page and type the key word "Gout" in the search bar at the bottom left.