Gout

[nianacw]

My grandmother has gout on her finger, and the doctors don't know what to give her for it as it is uncommon. The only thing they can think of to give her would react with other mediactions she is taking and could be harmful. She doesn't drink alcohol or intake a alot of sugar or caffine, which are linked to gout. Does anyone have any idea on what she could do to get rid of it, as its causing her a lot of discomfort! Thanks.

[yogasun]

gout is caused by high levels of uric acid crystallising in the joints.
I know that cherries/cherry juice are supposed to be a very effective pleasant 'natural' remedy. Worth a try, I had a friend who had chronic gout and it certainly helped.

[mango juice]

If you run a search on the web, you can probably find a list of foods to avoid. It is true that a lot of foods will exacerbate the symptoms of gout especially meats because it contains large amounts amino acids. I can't tell you what foods to avoid on top of my head, but I'm sure google can. ^_^

You should probably know by now that gout is a chronic disease, aka a lifelong disease, that has no cure. There are only ways to manage the symptoms such as taking aspirin or other form of painkillers and avoiding acute attacks. So if there aren't any contraindications to your grandma taking pain killers such as aspirin (ie. if she's having a gastric ulcer then aspirin wouldn't be a good idea) I suggest the best thing to do is to just give her adequate pain relief.

I have read any medical literature regarding the effects of exercise on the treatment of gout thus I don't know if thats going to help or not... it probably wouldn't have any effect.

Other alternative treatments would include perhaps acupuncture... physiotherapy?

How old is your grandmother? How much is the gout affecting her quality of life? Can she take care of herself? Who does she lives with? Can she mobilize herself? These are all questions to consider that I'm sure your GP had already asked. Since gout has no cure, your grandmother's case would require a multidisciplinary approach to things. But if the pain is just her main concern, and if she has no other contraindications, then all that can be done is pain control. :)

Hope this helps.