Once the Disease of Gluttonous Aristocrats, Gout Is Now Tormenting the Masses

Once the Disease of Gluttonous(ˈɡlətnəs) Aristocrats(əˈristəˌkrat), Gout(ɡout) Is Now Tormenting(ˈtôrmen(t)iNG) the Masses(mas)

It can be tempting(ˈtem(p)tiNG) to ascribe(əˈskrīb) the affliction’s(əˈflikSH(ə)n) prevalence(ˈprev(ə)ləns) to our current climate(ˈklīmit) of indulgence(inˈdəljəns), but that’s not the full story.

By Ligaya Mishan

It has come for genius(ˈjēnyəs) and aristocrat, conqueror(ˈkäNGkərər) and king. Like a succubus(ˈsəkyəbəs), it descends(dəˈsend) at night, first as a fevered(ˈfēvərd) dream, then pain in darkness, the body turned rude(ro͞od) animal, reduced to its lowest, humblest(ˈhəmbəl) extremity(ikˈstremədē): the foot, red and swollen(ˈswōlən), throbbing(ˈTHräbiNG) like a heart. You are left to hobble(ˈhäbəl), if that; the flutter(ˈflədər) of a bedsheet over the distended(diˈstendəd) foot is anguish(ˈaNGɡwiSH) enough, let alone the full weight of the body bearing down. To take a step is to see the abyss(əˈbis). Often the pain is concentrated(ˈkänsənˌtrādəd) in the big toe(tō), ridiculous, stubby(ˈstəbē) and chubby(ˈCHəbē), Napoleonic(nəˈpōlēən), the fat(fat) piggy(ˈpiɡē) sent to market. So acute(əˈkyo͞ot) is the sensitivity(ˌsensəˈtivədē) of this bloated(ˈblōdəd) hallux(ˈhaləks) — “so exquisite(ekˈskwizət) and lively(ˈlīvlē),” in the words of the 17th-century English physician(fəˈziSHən) Thomas Sydenham(ˈsidnəm, ˌsidnəm), chronicling(ˈkränək(ə)l) his bouts(bout) with the disease — that the faintest(fānt) footfall of a sympathetic(ˌsimpəˈTHedik) visitor is a gunshot straight(strāt) to the nerve(nərv). The American poet and novelist(ˈnävələst) Jim Harrison(ˈherəsən), writing in 1991, likened his throes(THrōz) to those of “a wolf with the steel(stēl) teeth of a trap buried(ˈberēd) in its paw(pô).” It will not help, at such a moment, to recall that Alexander the Great, Charlemagne(ˈSHärləˌmān), Leonardo da Vinci(liōˌnardō də ˈvinCHē), Isaac(ˈīzək) Newton and Henry James(jāmz) reportedly suffered thus, and that you have joined, in your abasement(əˈbāsmənt), the noblest(ˈnōbəl) ranks.

The disease can be chronic(ˈkränik) (the pain goes away but may return at will) and excruciating(ikˈskro͞oSHēˌādiNG) (if not fatal(ˈfādl)), yet say its name — gout — and people snicker(ˈsnikər). It has a whiff((h)wif) of the powdered(ˈpoudərd) wig(wiɡ), of a time when the powerful could continue to rule the world even half incapacitated(ˌinkəˈpasəˌtādəd), with one grotesquely(ɡrōˈtesklē) tumescent(t(y)o͞oˈmes(ə)nt) foot lolling(läl) atop a dainty(ˈdān(t)ē) cushioned(ˈko͝oSH(ə)nd) stool(sto͞ol), like some priapic(prīˈapik) cartoon(kärˈto͞on).

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/t-magazine/gout-tormenting-masses.html