A severe Victorian disease has returned to the UK with the NHS warning of a sudden rise in admissions - as well as four crucial warning signs not to be ignored. Gout affects around 1.5 million Brits and is a type of arthritis that causes extreme joint pain.
Cases have risen by 20 per cent in the last three years and approximately 250,000 people have been admitted to hospital with gout from 2021-22, the NHS says. MailOnline said Brits were warned earlier this year that cases of Victorian illnesses had hit a five-year high.
The Mirror exclusively reported that patients in England were diagnosed with one of 13 Victorian diseases when admitted to hospital on 421,370 occasions in the year to March 2022, according to NHS figures. These include all people admitted with these illnesses - which include gout, tuberculosis, malnutrition, whooping cough, measles, scurvy, typhoid, scarlet fever, diphtheria, mumps, rickets, cholera, and vitamin D deficiency - even if it wasn’t the primary reason for their admission.
The number rose by 25 per cent from 338,216 hospital admissions in 2020/21, after dipping during the pandemic when it had been rising year-on-year. The number of in-patients diagnosed with these diseases was at its highest level since at least 2017/18, when these figures began to be recorded.
NHS guidance states that an attack of gout usually lasts between five to seven days before getting better. Some ways to prevent gout are to get to a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet and have alcohol-free days.
Symptoms include sudden severe pain in your joint (usually the big toe, hands, wrist, elbow or knees), swollen joints, hot skin and redness over the affected joint. According to Dr Alastair Dickson, a GP and trustee of the UK Gout Society, the medical profession largely believe the condition is caused by overconsumption but warned that there is still a lack of awareness of the illness.
Speaking to the Mail, he said: "There’s a lack of awareness that it is inherently a genetic disease."
A report in the journal Lancet Regional Health - Europe in May found that only a minority of UK patients are given preventative medication within 12 months of diagnosis. Co-author of the report, Dr Mark Russell, NIHR research fellow at King’s College London, told Good Health, told Good Health: "Without preventative treatment, flare-ups tend to become more frequent over time and can develop into a chronic arthritis that never fully settles.
"Long-term treatment with urate-lowering medications such as allopurinol prevents attacks and joint damage in people with gout and improves quality of life."
If left untreated, gout can recur often and multiple flare-ups can also lead to tophi. These are tiny white lumps that appear under the skin, usually on the ears, fingers or elbows, caused by urate crystals forming.
The following factors can cause a gout flare-up:
Older age
Alcohol use
Obesity
Diet high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid in your body
Sweetened beverages, sodas and high fructose corn syrup
Medications including diuretics, low dose aspirin, some antibiotics prescribed for tuberculosis, and cyclosporine
Being male at birth
Gout attacks are usually treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) such as ibuprofen. If the pain continues, you may be prescribed steroids as tablets or an injection.
