History of Gout Series: Ancient History

Being the holder of a Bachelors of Arts in History, I dig learning the history of things around me, so I have decided to do a series on the history of gout in our world.  My intention is to give a better idea of where the human race has come from with gout and possibly reach into research and look to another series for the future.  I thought I'd begin with some very old accounts of gout.

One of the World's First Known Sufferers: Poor Sue!

As previously noted in my post on research, Sue is one of the earliest known sufferers of gout.   She also has the distinction of being the largest and best preserved T-Rex skeleton ever found.[Sue] Being such a large creature, I imagine her ordeal was prbably not very fun.

Gout's Earliest Acknowledgement: Egypt

Historians generally agree that ancient Egyptians were the first known culture to report the occurrence of gout, the earliest texts being from 2600 B.C..[1] Some sources look at evidence in mummies that point as evidence of gout.[2] While I did find one source that disputed this, the writer of this source has looked at scholarly reports from translated papyrus as evidence that ancient Egyptian doctors acknowledge a condition that caused swelling in the toe and prescribed a cure of applying nar-catfish from the Nile River and honey to the afflicted area.[3]

According to medscape, both the Edward Smith and Ebers papyri (other early Egyptian medical documents) acknowledge the existence of gout in Ancient Egypt.

Early Treatments

If applying Nile nar-catfish and honey doesn't suit your fancy, another treatment that was used starting around 1500 BC was the drug Colchicine.  

Dr. Hippocrates on the Case

The next major mention in scholarly work on gout comes from Ancient Greece and the most famous Greek physician, Hippocrates.  He called it the "unwalkable disease" also noting a demographic connection between occurrences of gout and the rich.[4]  (A personal aside: I wish I had the rich lifestyle to go with my gout!) A further demographic line was drawn in noticing that eunuchs did not suffer from the condition.[5]

In the next History of Gout Series post we'll cover gout in the AD world.

Have you heard any interesting stories of gout remedies from the past?  Leave me a comment!

**This website is for informative purposes and should not be substituted as advice of a medical professional.  If you believe you have gout, I STRONGLY recommend scheduling an appointment with a medical professional and getting the problem checked out.

Sources [- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout#History

http://www.hellolife.net/gout/b/what-is-gout/

http://www.academia.edu/3653849/Catfish_Remedy_for_Gout_in_Ancient_Egypt
http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptmedicine.html
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780895_2]

Medicine for Gout Series, Entry 2: Colchicine

Hello again! Another week, another post about the dreaded gout.  Hope all reading are getting over your attack rather than getting one, but if you're not today's choice for our medicine treatment is one that has been with us for a long time:  Colchicine.

A Longtime Medical Companion...

In the history of gout, colchicine has been a consistent help to gout sufferers against the bane of their existence since early Egyptian days.  As wikipedia states:

 The plant source of colchicine, the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), was described for treatment of rheumatism and swelling in the Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1500 B.C.), an Egyptian medical papyrus.

So with over 3500 years of history treating gout, I feel it's pretty remarkable that mankind still uses this remedy for gout attacks.  It's no wonder though, if you've never used it you must know: for most people this stuff works.

How it Works:

From a well-respected English medical website:

    Colchicine works by reducing the number of white blood cells which travel into the inflamed areas. This helps break the cycle of inflammation and reduces swelling and pain. It will have been prescribed if you are unable to take anti-inflammatory painkillers, which are the medicines most often used to ease a gout attack.

 

Many people will use Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) to stop their gout pain, but as you can see from wikipedia, the side-effects of these medicines can be rough.   Colchicine is an FDA-approved medicine that is known for particularly working to curb gout (among a few other things).

Side-Effects:

 Through as our useful source, wikipedia, we can find a list of colchicine's side-effects:

Adverse effects[edit]Side-effects include gastrointestinal upset and neutropenia. High doses can also damage bone marrow and lead to anemia and also cause hair loss. All of these side-effects can result from hyperinhibition of mitosis.^{[citation needed]}A main side-effect associated with all mitotic inhibitors is peripheral neuropathy, which is a numbness or tingling in the hands and feet due to peripheral nerve damage that can become so severe that reduction in dosage or complete cessation of the drug may be required. Microtubules are involved in vesicular transport. Peripheral nerves are among the longest in the body. Brownian motion is not significant enough in these peripheral nerves to allow vesicles to reach their destination. Thus, they are susceptible to microtubule toxins.^{[citation needed]} 

Toxicity[edit]Colchicine poisoning has been compared to arsenic poisoning. Symptoms start 2 to 5 hours after the toxic dose has been ingested and include burning in the mouth and throat, fever, vomiting,diarrhea, abdominal pain, and kidney failure. These symptoms may set in as many as 24 hours after exposure. Onset of multiple-system organ failure may occur within 24 to 72 hours. This includes hypovolemic shock due to extreme vascular damage and fluid loss through the GI tract, which may cause death. In addition, sufferers may experience kidney damage that causes low urine output and bloody urine, low white blood cell counts (persisting for several days), anemia; muscular weakness, and respiratory failure. Recovery may begin within six to eight days.

I know many people reading this blog probably don't have time to read all of that, so I'll summarize for you. Colchicine is poisonous to the human body!  You don't want to take too much of this stuff, otherwise you'll be giving yourself something akin to arsenic poisoning.  It will kill you if your not careful, so you need to-

Be Careful about Dosing!

If and when prescribed Colchicine you should pay attention to your doctor and your box about the dosing.  You won't want to take too much of Colchicine and cause stomach problems or worse.

There are a few sources out there that will spell it out better than I can, but this Australian website does a good job of showing that low dosing will help you more and cause fewer adverse effects. Just remember what the end of all my posts say: I'm not a medical professional so you need to communicate with a medical professional about these things.

My View on Colchicine:

I have taken Colchicine before, especially in the first few months of taking Allopurinol.  It did a great job of keeping me from too much pain.  I am pretty sure there was one time in the first few months that I went harder on it than I should have and I got a stomach ache and had a bad hour with a couple of messy trips to the toilet.  You're better off pacing yourself and remember that water is also your friend.  

Have you taken Colchicine for your gout?  What were your experiences?  Leave me a comment!

Other Posts in the Medicine for Gout Series:
Allopurinol

**This website is for informative purposes and should not be substituted as advice of a medical professional.  If you believe you have gout, I STRONGLY recommend scheduling an appointment with a medical professional and getting the problem checked out.