I suffered from gout. I had continual mysterious attacks of joint pain, that I put down to 'overuse'. In fact it was a decade or two before I could even narrow

I suffered from gout. I had continual mysterious attacks of joint pain, that I put down to 'overuse'. In fact it was a decade or two before I could even narrow my diagnosis down to 'gout'. Like most people, I assumed it was due to rich foods, so tried to identify the culprit. I was unsuccessful. I blamed lots of things, and avoided them. I kept getting gout. Treatment consisted of colchicine for the gout attacks. Very nasty stuff, but it did work and quickly. Allopurinol as a preventative. That worked most of the time but it wasn't always successful. By sheer luck, or by lateral thinking, I worked out after about 20 years that gout only happened when I was dehydrated. That was to be expected, I suppose. Uric acid is very insoluble, and when you are dehydrated it will crystallise out in the areas that don't have a rapid turnover of fluid, such as the joints. Using that knowledge, I was on the lookout for the first twinges of pain from the gout. When that happened I would quickly drink a litre or two of water and continue to drink water until the twinges subsided. Along with the allopurinol that has stopped the gout attacks cold. I even live in the tropics these days, but I still don't get gout any more. IF YOU'RE A GOUT SUFFERER, REMEMBER TO DRINK MORE WATER DAILY. EDIT: I say 'water' but, really, any fluid drink will be suitable. You just need to be able to drink lots of it. (Probably even beer.)