|
|
Establish an Arusha Gout Societyby lute wa lutengano My friend has some very serious gout problems. The situation is so bad that when he walks into his office at the Arusha International Conference Centre it takes about half an hour to cover the 20 or so meters from the gate to the lift. I am told that gout is very painful and it attacks you with extreme prejudice. I recall the turmoil of another friend of mine some few years back. We then used to patronise the Sakina and Ngarenaro pubs. His gout was so serious that whenever he wanted to visit the toilet he had to hire a cab to Equator Hotel. Reason: the toilets in those local pubs were the so-called Asian type and one had to squat to do the job. With his gout that was an impossible feat. Some years back, when I first arrived in Arusha, I was strongly warned about the disease. The urbane Dar es Salaamites warned that the ravaging disease was so rampant in Arusha and chances that I would become a 'goutist' were almost 100 per cent. Surely on arrival in Arusha I was astounded by the number of people, all males, who wobbled around the streets as if walking barefoot on thorns. Reason they were gout afflicted individuals. I got scared. And surely, as day comes after night, many of my friends, also newly arrivals in Arusha, began falling one after another with gout. Initially, they complained they never knew what hit them. Whatever it was, they said, was so painful like having someone prick with needles in the space between one’s finger nails and the flesh. I am told gout is so painful that even a passing shade will cause an excruciating pain. In fact, some people say that gout does not kill but it makes one wish he were dead. My gout-ridden friend initially thought he had broken his toe playing football. His toe was so sore that he could not bear to have even a sheet resting on it at night. Once dubbed the ‘disease of kings’ because of its association with rich foods and alcohol, gout sufferers have long been the butt of cruel jokes. Gout is a metabolic disorder, its symptoms resulting from accumulation of uric acid in blood and tissues, formed by a breakdown of chemicals called purines which are found in meat, seafood and vegetables such as peas, beans, mushrooms, cauliflower and spinach. This causes an intense inflammatory reaction resulting in swollen and painful joints. Gout usually affects the big toe and is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men repeated attacks can cause permanent joint damage. With dietary control and medication the condition can be put under control. In the United Kingdom gout afflicted people they are about 150,000 have launched a national society to help raise awareness of the condition and dispel some of the common myths about the disease. "It (gout) has been subject to caricature and innuendo, with the most common implication being that gout is self-induced either the result of rich food, or, more particularly, drink" a spokesman of the UK society told the BBC. "The reality for those who experience an attack is very different," he adds. The same is the case in Arusha and its environs. Gout is very
misunderstood. I would therefore suggest that an Arusha Gout Society be
established to assist gout ridden people and dispel the many myths surrounding
it.
|
