Gout Resource

Free flare tracker

How this site writes

Sources and how we use them

Claims on this site stay qualitative, named, and short of a prescription. The clinician who knows you outranks the page.

Last reviewed

The rule

This site states well-established, qualitative facts and names where they come from. It does not invent statistics, study results, quotations, or effect sizes. It does not treat a conference abstract as a rule. It does not print medicine doses, titration schedules, or instructions to start, stop, or switch a medicine. If a sentence would only be true with a number we are not willing to own, the sentence is cut.

That includes the serum urate target in a treat-to-target plan. Guidelines print a number. This site does not. A number on a webpage is not your target, and it is easy to mistake a lab goal for a dose. Your clinician sets the goal and the dose.

More detail

Clinical claims are attributed in the prose, for example “ACR’s guideline recommends,” rather than with a badge. Two sentences can both be careful and still disagree in emphasis. When that happens, the clinician who knows you outranks this site.

Each source below shows the date it was accessed. How pages are updated is on the editorial policy.

Guidelines

2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout
On October 3, 2026, ACR’s gout guideline page presented this as its gout guideline. An older 2012 guideline is also listed on that page. This site relies on the 2020 guideline, not on the 2012 text as if it were the current one. Where a page says the ACR guideline recommends something, it means the 2020 guideline. Accessed October 3, 2026.
2016 updated EULAR evidence-based recommendations for the management of gout
Richette P, Doherty M, Pascual E, et al. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2017, volume 76, pages 29–42. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209707. Cited as text. Accessed October 3, 2026.

Plain-language companions

These explain gout for readers. They are not a second guideline, and this site does not copy every claim on them. In particular, it does not repeat cure-like wording, or study statistics this site has not taken on as its own.

Accessed October 3, 2026.

Added for the pages on CPPD, kidney stones, and causes. The NIAMS gout pages above were re-checked the same day.

Accessed October 10, 2026.

Added October 10, 2026

Added for the flare-medicine comparison, foot care, travel, the meal ideas, and the newer gear guides. The NIAMS gout pages were re-checked the same day, including what NIAMS says about younger people with gout.

  • MedlinePlus: Colchicine, for how it is given, kidney, liver, and blood problems, medicines that should not be taken with it, grapefruit, and common side effects.
  • MedlinePlus: Naproxen, as an example NSAID, for the stomach and bleeding warning, heart and stroke risk, kidney disease, heart failure, and pregnancy.
  • MedlinePlus: Prednisone, as an example steroid, for diabetes, high blood pressure, infection, and other conditions to tell a clinician about, and for interactions.
  • MedlinePlus: Compression stockings, for graduated pressure, leg swelling, types, fit, and talking with a clinician.
  • NIDDK: Diabetes and foot problems, for daily foot checks, nail and skin care, shoes and socks, avoiding tight socks or elastic stockings, and when to call a provider.
  • NHLBI: DASH eating plan, for the food groups in DASH, including fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. This site does not print its serving or sodium numbers.
  • NHS: Gout, for triggers including too much alcohol, a very large meal, and dehydration, and for not putting pressure on the joint and keeping bedclothes off it during a flare.
  • The 2020 ACR guideline, listed above, re-checked for its strong recommendation of colchicine, NSAIDs, or glucocorticoids as first-line flare treatment chosen on patient factors and preferences, and for injected steroids when medicine cannot be taken by mouth.

Accessed October 10, 2026.

Safety warnings

One note on Claims you’ll see online is a product-safety warning, not gout guidance. It uses the first two federal sources below. The supplement cautions on that page, and the fever caution, use the NCCIH and MedlinePlus pages that follow.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration: 21 CFR 310.548, drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts
The FDA rule states that there is a lack of adequate data to establish that colloidal silver or silver salts are generally recognized as safe and effective for over-the-counter use in treating or preventing any disease. Accessed October 8, 2026.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Colloidal Silver
Describes argyria, a bluish-gray discoloration of the skin from silver build-up, as usually permanent. Accessed October 8, 2026.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Turmeric
Lists stomach upset, nausea, and diarrhea as possible effects of oral turmeric; reports liver damage with some high-bioavailability curcumin products; advises talking with a health care provider before using any herbal product if you take medicine, because some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways. Accessed October 10, 2026.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Bromelain
Lists stomach upset and diarrhea as the most commonly reported side effects of oral bromelain and advises talking with a health care provider before use if you take any medicine. Accessed October 10, 2026.
MedlinePlus: Septic arthritis
Describes joint infection as fever with swelling, usually in one joint, and intense pain; recovery is good with prompt antibiotic treatment, and delay can cause permanent joint damage. Supports the site's advice that a hot, swollen joint with fever needs prompt evaluation. Accessed October 10, 2026.

What the other pages add

Every page uses only the sources above. None adds a study, a dose, a titration, a prophylaxis length, or a serum urate target number. In menu order:

  • What gout is uses NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for crystals, urate, flares, tophi, and the tools clinicians use.
  • How gout is diagnosed uses NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for the story, the exam, joint fluid, and why infection has to be ruled out.
  • During a flare uses the 2020 ACR guideline and the 2016 EULAR recommendations for the anti-inflammatory approach, and NIAMS for rest, ice, and elevation.
  • Medicines, by name uses the 2020 ACR guideline and the 2016 EULAR recommendations to name flare medicines and urate-lowering medicines, without doses.
  • Staying well uses the 2020 ACR guideline for urate-lowering medicine, including its conditional recommendation to continue it indefinitely over stopping it (a long-term recommendation, not flare-specific), and NIAMS for lifestyle limits and the DASH eating pattern.
  • The first months uses the same ACR basis for early flares, and NIAMS for diet as an adjunct.
  • Questions to ask turns the pages above into questions. A question list is not advice, and it adds no source.
  • Other conditions uses NIAMS for conditions that often travel with gout and medicines linked with higher urate, and the 2020 ACR guideline for allopurinol when chronic kidney disease is present.
  • Living with gout applies these sources to ordinary situations: work, sleep, shoes, and what to tell a clinician. It does not cite a diary app, and it does not add a study.
  • Food and drink uses NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for alcohol, sugar-sweetened drinks, certain meats and seafood, weight, and the DASH pattern.
  • Home measures uses NIAMS for rest, ice, and elevation, and the 2020 ACR guideline for ice as an add-on and its conditional recommendation against adding vitamin C supplements.
  • Claims you’ll see online is a catalog of folklore and posts, not a treatment page. It does not add a study, a dose, or a recipe. Supplement blogs, forums, and social posts are not medical sources. Where that page names the 2020 ACR guideline, it means the guideline above. The colloidal silver note follows the FDA rule and the NCCIH page under Safety warnings. That note is a warning, not a second gout guideline.
  • Gear guides and the buying guides it links (Cold packs and wraps for gout, Shoes for gout-affected feet, Elevation pillows and leg rests, Water bottles and hydration tools, Kitchen tools for everyday eating, Pill organizers and reminders, Mobility aids during a flare, Bed cradles and sheet lifters) use NIAMS for rest, ice, and elevation, the 2020 ACR guideline for ice as an add-on, and NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for diet patterns. Product criteria are general common sense, not clinical claims, and cite no product pages or studies. No product was tested. Any affiliate links sit below a disclosure.
  • Causes and triggers uses NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for urate buildup, risk factors, triggers, and medicines linked with higher urate. It does not tell anyone to stop a medicine.
  • Pseudogout and gout uses MedlinePlus and the Arthritis Foundation for CPPD, and NIAMS for gout’s usual joints and joint fluid testing.
  • Gout in women uses NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation for menopause and later onset. It prints no multiplier.
  • Kidney stones and gout uses NIAMS, MedlinePlus, and NIDDK for the link, fluids, and warning signs, and the 2020 ACR guideline for allopurinol in chronic kidney disease.
  • For caregivers uses NIAMS for what a flare looks like and for rest, ice, and elevation.
  • Frequently asked questions summarizes the pages above, plus the 2020 ACR guideline’s recommendation to give an anti-inflammatory alongside starting urate-lowering medicine because flares can happen early. It adds no duration.
  • Glossary defines terms from the pages above. It prints no target number.
  • Flare tracker is a blank record. It makes no clinical claim and has no dose or target field.
  • Image library summarizes where flares often start from NIAMS and the Arthritis Foundation. The drawings are original to this site, not clinical photographs.
  • Flare medicines compared uses the 2020 ACR guideline for the three first-line options, NIAMS for how they are given, and the MedlinePlus colchicine, naproxen, and prednisone pages for who may not be able to take each. It ranks nothing and prints no dose.
  • Gout in younger people uses NIAMS for typical age of onset, more severe disease in younger people, risk factors, and rare genetic conditions. It does not claim a specific workup.
  • Foot care with gout uses NIDDK for foot checks, nail care, shoes, and diabetes cautions, NIAMS for where flares start and tophi, and the NHS for keeping pressure off a sore joint.
  • Holidays and travel uses the NHS for triggers, NIAMS for diet changes and taking urate-lowering medicine as prescribed, and MedlinePlus for carrying a medicine list.
  • Low-purine eating and its six recipes use NIAMS for purines and diet changes and NIAMS and NHLBI for the DASH pattern. The recipes are ordinary food with no health-outcome claim.
  • Compression socks, slippers and sandals, and cookbooks use MedlinePlus, NIDDK, the NHS, NIAMS, and NHLBI as listed above. They compare types, not brands.
  • Questions sheet is a one-page print version of the questions page. It adds no source.
  • Spanish homepage and Spanish flare tracker translate the homepage flare steps and the tracker. They add no source.

The pages about the site itself, About, Editorial policy, Privacy, Terms, Disclosure, and Contact, make no clinical claims.

What we will not use as a source

  • Product pages, supplement brands, and books that promise a cure, a flush, a detox, or crystals dissolved at home.
  • Supplement blogs, forums, and social posts. They are where claims circulate. They are not medical sources.
  • Unnamed “studies show” sentences. If we cannot name the kind of fact and the source, it does not go on the page.
  • A personal target number or a dose, even when a guideline prints one. Your clinician sets those.
  • A diary app, a uric acid meter, or any product pitched as gout care.

Disclaimer

This site is educational only. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for a clinician. Seek urgent care for a hot, swollen joint with fever, if you cannot bear weight, or if this is unlike your usual flares.