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Greetings!
The Gout & Uric Acid Education Society is committed to raising public awareness about gout and arming patients, like you, with resources to help you better understand gout diagnosis and treatment.
As you may have seen in our previous newsletters, we have introduced a series of educational comics to help raise awareness about the severity of gout.
With the holidays fast approaching, this month's comic takes a look at what it would be like if Santa had gout.
Because Santa is older, overweight and is presumed to eat a lot of high fructose corn syrup in cookies and candy left for him by children around the world, he very well could be at risk for gout - which would greatly affect his holiday routine.
During the holiday season, decadent meals, treats and alcohol consumption are just a few temptations for all of us. Gout patients need to be extra careful with their diets or they might experience a painful gout flare. Even those who are at risk for gout may experience their first gout attack over the holidays if they are over-indulgent.
While gout is a lifelong condition, it can be better managed through proper diagnosis and treatment, which includes a combination of a healthy diet, exercise and the right medication. This means compliance throughout the year - even during the holidays when temptation is at a peak. Because gout is connected to many other health issues (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease), a prompt visit to a primary care physician or specialist, such as a rhematologist, to diagnosis and treat gout early on is also important.
Stay tuned for the January 2014 newsletter as we celebrate the new year with another comic that will educate on gout and debunk common gout myths.
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