Uric Acid Arthritis - Another Name For Gout

Another Name For Gout

If we called gout uric acid arthritis would we get better treatment?

Gout is an old-fashioned word.

It is true that people associate gout with pain. But they also associate it with excessive luxurious living – the “rich man’s disease,” or “disease of kings,” which is not true. Because most gout is genetic.

So you might not care what doctor’s think. Because you just know it’s Agony! But read on to see why top gout doctors are beginning to agree with GoutPal. Then see why a better name for gout means better treatment.

Historic Names for Gout

I’ve heard of podagra in the past. Being gout in the foot. But recently I had to lookup the meaning of chiragra. In Ancient Greece, physicians had different names for gout according to the part of the body affected^[3-5]. So here are a few historic gout names:

Chiragra – hand
Cleisagra – clavicle (collarbone)
Dentagra – teeth
Gonagra – knee
Omagra – shoulder
Pechyagra – elbow
Podagra – foot
Rachisagra – spine
Tenontagra – sinews and tendons

Do you know any other gout names? How about unusual names for types of gout? Such as Occupational Gout?

Gout Scientific Name

Science knows that excess uric acid causes gout. Because it is deposited in and around the joints as MonoSodium Urate (MSU) crystals. Hence, gout’s other name – crystal arthritis, or crystal-induced arthritis. As well as crystal arthritis, another common scientific name for gout is gouty arthritis.

Though doctors recognize gout as a type of arthritis. Most people think that it is self-inflicted through high-living. Even some doctors believe this misconception. How many doctors prescribe a few unmonitored pills and offer dietary advice yet fail to provide a proper uric acid management program? Quite a few judging by my postbag.

Of course, if you start talking about uric acid arthritis, people may not understand you. But you can start thinking of it in this way. Start to concentrate on uric acid and how to manage it, then gout will take care of itself.

This Uric Acid Arthritis page, first published before May 2008, represents a better way to think about gout. Because you can control excess uric acid. Then your journey to gout freedom gets a whole lot easier.

Agony! Another Name For Gout? photo — Is Agony Another Name For Gout?

Other Names For Gout

More recently, researchers and rheumatologists have recognized this problem. Also, some have tried to take steps to give gout a better name.

Firstly, Lindsay identified three hidden perspectives of gout after interviews with eleven chronic gout sufferers^[1]. Because that study revealed shame, embarrassment, and stigma as common problems in gout sufferers. They conclude:

Healthcare providers must be aware of the features of progressive gout highlighted in this study. The stigma of gout can be a barrier to treatment. More awareness and public education are needed to highlight the progressive nature of untreated gout and to reduce the stigma, reducing the burden of this disease.

Then Petri confirms my suggestion that gout would be treated better if we changed its name^[2]. Because this study compared results from questionnaires where gout was renamed Urate Crystal Arthritis.

Gout was perceived as being more likely caused by the patient’s own behavior through poor diet and overconsumption of alcohol, while Urate Crystal Arthritis was attributed to aging. The Urate Crystal Arthritis illness was also viewed as a more chronic and serious condition, while the gout-labeled illness was seen as being more socially embarrassing and more under the patient’s personal control. Management for the gout-labeled illness centered on dietary interventions, while the Urate Crystal Arthritis illness was perceived as requiring long-term medication.

So now we can refer to Uric Acid Arthritis, or Urate Crystal Arthritis as other names for gout.

Another Name For Gout

Do you know another name for gout? I would appreciate your thoughts about the embarrassment of gout. Also, if shame and stigma can be reduced by using another name for gout. Please share your opinions and experiences in the Gout Forum.

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Common Terms: knee, Most Helpful Gout Pages, teeth, tendon