You don’t have to be middle-aged to come down with bout of gout

IT’S called the rich man’s disease, and is seen as something that affects the older generation.

I had a man in his mid-20s come to the surgery last week, with a pain at the base of his finger, which turned out to be due to gout.

He didn’t seem to have the typical profile of someone with gout. As well as being young, he was of normal weight, didn’t drink too much alcohol and didn’t take any medication, such as water tablets.

He didn’t drink too many sugar-sweetened soft drinks or fruit juice – which have recently been shown to contribute to gout risk.

He didn’t eat a lot of herring, sardines, mussels or marmite. He also didn’t eat kidneys, liver or heart. Not a lot of young people are dining on heart these days, right enough.

Some people are genetically disposed to gout, and indeed it ran in this young chap’s family.

What happens is uric acid – a blood waste product – builds up in the blood, and crystals form and collect in a joint, irritating the tissues.

Typically it’s at the base of the big toe but can strike elsewhere.

The pain can come on suddenly and is typically extremely painful – it’s said one can’t even have the bedsheet resting on the affected area.

It can be treated though. Strong antiinflammatories, if you can take them (there are other medicines if not), reduce the inflammation, and a good old fashioned ice pack can help.

Prevention is better than cure, so losing weight, sensible eating which avoids the foods mentioned and cutting down on alcohol reduces the risk of a further attack.

A drug called Allopurinol taken daily can help prevent recurrences, although it can take a few months to stabilise.