Kdb4ut@gmail.com wrote:

    An estimated 90% of people with gout are men.
    The most common age for a first attack is between
    40 and 50, but gout can start at any age.
    Women seldom develop gout until after menopause.

    A doctor examing a patient for gout will take a
    medical history, and then perform a physical exam.
    A sudden, very painful attack in only 1 joint often
    suggest the disease.  Some other types of arthritis,
    however, are similar to gout in some ways, but are
    not caused by urate crystals.  Pseudogout and septic
    arthritis are 2 such conditions.  The doctor must be
    sure that the person does not have 1 of these.

    One of the test that should be done in an exam for
    gout is a determination of the amount of uric acid
    in the blood.  A high level of uric acid doesn't
    necessarily mean a person has gout, nor does a
    normal level mean that gout is definitely not
    present.  The only way to diagnose gout with
    certainity is for the doctor to remove and examine
    fluid from an affected joint, and to find urate
    crystals there.

    UNDERSTANDING ARTHRITIS
          WHAT IT IS
       HOW TO TREAT IT
     HOW TO COPE WITH IT

   Arthritis Foundation

... Chocoholic:  If found unconscious, administer IV of Hershey's Syrup!