Just so you know -- gout is not entirely out of fashion, although we only hear about it in old stories of fat people suffering while in their cups. A gout stool was designed in the 1770's to rest the ailing foot when occupied with visitors in the parlor. It is a cute padded "A" shaped piece of furniture of antique vintage on which the lower calf and ankle can rest comfortably.

According to World Book Encyclopedia gout is a chronic disease that produces swelling in the joints. A defect in the body's natural action of breaking down certain proteins results in a production of too much uric acid which accumulates in the blood.

Treatment consists of limiting the amount of protein in the diet and of taking drugs such as aspirin and probenecid to hasten the elimination of urine. Colchicine is a drug which relieves acute gouty attacks.

I hope never to have a cute gouty attack. More than likely drinking lots of water will hasten urine elimination. But some folks in my family are so concerned about having need of a toilet when none is handy they deliberately shun good old H2O depriving their bodies of cleansing action. Not me.

Winston Churchill said something like - "Go to the toilet whenever one is available - just in case there is a long distance before the next one." Good advice I take seriously.

What a friend of mine said when I didn't have the urge while we stopped during a bus trip was "C'm on, Let's go. Even a drip is worth the trip." We actually needed the exercise after miles in a cramped van between tourist traps. Although the hole in the floor was not the easiest to accommodate, the trip usually produced more than a drip of which I was happy to have released.

I prefer to drink the largest amount of water before going to bed and also whenever I subsequently arise for purposes of elimination. Drinking water appears to be the best solution because diet isn't as easy to manage.

Like anybody is going to quit eating meat - the most obvious source of protein. I don't eat beef because it is costly. I love pork but it is also costly so I rarely eat that either. Chicken gets tiresome regardless of how innovative is the spicey cook.

Gout is not curable, but can be controlled by proper treatment. Just thought you would like to know.