Why is gout worse at night?
鈥� I am one of those unfortunate individuals who occasionally experience gout attacks. Having studied the problem for a long time I have realised that it is caused by consuming certain food and drinks. By thinking back to what I ate earlier, I can usually determine the cause.
Green string beans, lima (butter) beans, celery, V8 vegetable juice, shellfish and sometimes a glass of wine, but not all wines, bring on an attack. Most of these will produce a mild ache followed by pain in my foot, toe or knee within 4 hours. But in the case of prawns or shrimp, the pain does not begin for about 8 hours.
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鈥淕reen beans, lima beans, celery, shellfish and sometimes a glass of wine bring on gout attacks鈥�
As these foods are not the sort of thing people eat at breakfast, but more for the evening meal, this means the onset of pain is usually in the evening hours.
Fortunately, I have found that a 25-milligram tablet of will begin to alleviate the pain about 2 and a half hours after the first signs of a gout attack. That鈥檚 why I always keep a bottle of indometacin in my home or car and take it with me whenever I travel.
J. Robert Wagner, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, US
While indometacin is a common treatment for gout, many others are available. If you think you may have the symptoms of this condition, seek medical advice before taking any drug 鈥� Ed