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Gout is an acutely painful form of arthritis, attacking at least one million victims in the United States. This disease usually results from an inherited defect in body chemistry. Uric acid, a normal body substance is either overproduced or delivered faster than the kidneys can get rid of it. Great excesses of uric acid form needle-like crystals in joints, leading to severe inflammation. The affected joints become hot, swollen, and exquisitely tender.

Although gouty arthritis can settle in almost any part of the body, the large joint of the big toe is attacked most commonly. Your diet must be regulated to lower the uric acid intake. This can be done most naturally by eliminating meat and cola beverages, then substituting unrefined whole grain cereal foods, fruits and vegetables. The use of hot packs, or in the case of extremely acute inflammation ice packs, may reduce the inflammation and bring rapid resolution

Also dangerous for patients with gout is the crystallization of uric acid in the kidneys. Actual stone formation can occur with the typical symptoms of
colic in the ureter. Occasional deposits of uric acid, called tophi, can occur in the skin around the ears, the hands, and the elbows. Strict control of dietary uric acid, elimination of alcohol and caffeine, and adequate fluid intake are good preventive measures. A physician should be consulted when difficulty arises.

Finally, it is important to emphasize a few major misconceptions about arthritis. First of all, arthritis can be a serious disease. It is very important to make an accurate diagnosis, particularly of the rheumatoid type. Many people are under the impression that nothing much can be done for arthritis. This is definitely untrue. With early, proper, and continued treatment, a great deal can be done.

A short stay in a lifestyle or wellness center for nutritional education, hydrotherapy, and diagnostic evaluation is well worth the time and money. Sometimes all progressive crippling can be prevented. Distortion of the joints, which has already occurred, may be greatly reduced if not corrected. It is likewise not true that arthritis affects only old people. Some of the elderly were struck with arthritis when they were relatively young. Juvenile forms of rheumatoid arthritis are also known and rarely may be seen from infancy. Find out what kind of arthritis it is, then go to work in removing the cause, aiding nature in her valiant effort to combat this problem.

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Of the 17 million arthritis sufferers in the United States, over 10 million have degenerative types of arthritis. Sometimes called osteoarthritis, the degenerative joint disease occurs twice as often as rheumatoid arthritis and usually begins later in life. In fact, almost everyone will get “a touch of rheumatism” sooner or later, if he lives long enough. Usually osteoarthritis is mild. It seldom cripples, but often produces pain.

Weather changes, storms, and cold may aggravate the symptoms, making the sufferer somewhat of a weather prophet. This type of arthritis confines its attack locally to individual joints and rarely spreads to distant joints or affects the whole body. Primarily osteoarthritis is a matter of “wear and tear” of the mechanical parts of the joint, the cartilage cushions wearing out as the patient becomes older. Most often affected are weight bearing joints, such as the knees, hips, or spine. One variety of this disease, which does not seem to have anything to do with strain on the joints, affects younger women. The joints of the fingers are the chief points of attack, often showing bony enlargement on the hands, called Heberden‘s nodes. These can be quite painful.

In the normal joint where two bones meet, their ends are covered with layers of smooth elastic material called cartilage. These surfaces are designed to slide smoothly across each other, lubricated by the joint fluid. In osteoarthritis the bone ends become thicker, then bony spurs develop. The surrounding ligaments and membranes may also become thickened, changing the whole shape of the joint. Muscles in the region of the arthritic joint tend to become tense and contract unnaturally as a reflex reaction to pain. They may likewise become weak. Obviously when the mechanical system breaks down in this way, the joint is not going to work properly.

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Of all forms of joint inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis is the most disastrous, destructive, and disabling. It may strike suddenly, then progress rapidly to an acute and seriously damaging stage. Although seven out of ten cases of rheumatoid arthritis occur between the age of 20 and 60, its onset could come at any time during life. Frequently, it advances subtly and deceptively. The initial symptoms appear for a few days and go away, then come back later slightly worse. There may be weeks or months between goings and comings. Gradually the disease reappears at shorter intervals, until it is a daily problem, which cannot be ignored. No two patients are quite the same. No one can say how any given instance is going to heal, except there will for certain be ups and downs.

Physicians use the term remission to describe times when a disease seems to go away by itself. The pain, stiffness, and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis even in severe cases may suddenly subside and disappear for months or even years. For about 25% of these fortunate individuals, it never comes back. Damage already done, though, does not miraculously disappear, even if the victim cannot tell by pain or other symptoms that the disease is still there. Moreover, his or her arthritis is likely to flare up again in the same insidious way that it first appeared.

People with rheumatoid arthritis can feel sick all over. The main targets of rheumatic disease are the joints of both hands, the arms, the hips, the knees, and the feet. People may be affected generally with fever, fatigue, and poor appetite. They may lose weight and develop anemia. Occasionally the lymph glands or spleen may become enlarged. It is quite common for the arthritis patient to be troubled by coldness, trembling of the hands and feet, or excessive sweating.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects more than one joint. The joint first stiffens, then swells and becomes tender, eventually making its entire motion difficult and painful. These symptoms are typically at their worst when the patient first arises in the morning. Pain and stiffness tend to get better after he or she has been up and moving for a while. Some patients develop small lumps under the skin, called rheumatoid nodules. These are usually at the elbows, knees, or ankles, and may be quite tender.

Progressive damage may occur inside the joint. Here is what happens. The area where two bones meet is enclosed, usually in a capsule that contains fluid. This joint capsule has an inner lining called the synovial membrane. The inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis starts here, swelling this membrane and spreading to other parts of the joint. An outgrowth of inflamed tissue invades the cartilage surrounding the bone ends, eventually eating it away. Finally scar tissue forms between the bones. Sometimes a scar transforms itself into actual
bone, permanently fusing and rendering it immovable.

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There are many degenerative diseases that involve our joints and their connective tissues. The causes of these afflictions are varied and include accidents, injuries, infections, hormone disorders, cancer, and aberrations of the immune system. Most of these conditions involving the joints can generate pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, increased warmth, or progressive limitation of motion. The involvement of a single joint or of several joints may actually be a manifestation of systemic illness or caused by a disorder confined to the particular joint. It is crucial to consider all of the above possibilities in ascertaining the precise cause. Some disorders are self-limited and leave no residual handicap, whereas other illnesses become chronic and may lead to progressive joint destruction.

An initial step in evaluating painful diseases of our joints is to confirm whether the symptoms involve the joint itself or the structures around the joint. Bursitis, tendonitis, and cellulitis can usually be distinguished from actual joint disease, through the withdrawal of joint fluid with a sterile needle and syringe, and its examination under the microscope. Accurately taken xrays are necessary to provide the most accurate diagnosis.

Depression or anxiety often exists in conjunction with joint symptoms. Most of the time “psychogenic rheumatism” coexists without obvious signs of abnormalities in the muscles or bones. Articular (joint) involvement manifests itself, however, by joint tenderness, increased warmth, redness, the collection of fluid in the joint, and restriction of motion. Sometimes in the knees, one feels a click or grating sensation with rapid movement. Be sure to look the body over in its entirety for other signs of disease. The eyes, the skin, any presence of fever, the blood pressure are all valuable indexes to a general state of health.

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