Marshfield Clinic News Blog

Martina Ziegenbein, M.D.

Q: I’ve seen a lot of advertising for gout medication recently. What is gout and what causes it?

A: Martina Ziegenbein, M.D.:  Gout is a form of arthritis caused by deposits of uric acid crystals in the joints and other tissues, such as the skin or kidney. Uric acid is produced when the body breaks down purines. Purines are found in certain foods and drinks including liver, mackerel, dried peas and beans, beer and wine.

Gout can be chronic if left untreated. A diet low in purines is recommended for gout sufferers. Healthy lifestyle choices such as maintaining healthy body weight and limiting alcohol consumption can help in its prevention.

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Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire Center Infectious Disease Nurse Kathy Kivlin has been going to Haiti on annual medical relief missions since long before Haiti was in the international spotlight.

This is her seventh trip to Haiti as part of a Marshfield Clinic team that spends a week each winter bringing much-needed medical supplies and expertise to the Caribbean nation.

She and five or six Marshfield Clinic employees in the Chippewa Valley will be in Haiti from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1. She and a larger contingent of Marshfield Clinic staff were in Haiti for several weeks in 2010 when the earthquake struck.

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You’ve heard the old says that goes something like: “You can choose your friends and you can choose your job, but you can’t choose your family.”

Of course most of us would gladly choose our family if that were an option (with the possible exception of that weird cousin). However, no matter how great your family is, there may be unintended consequences of those connections.

One consequence may be a genetic predisposition to a chronic disease such as Type 2 diabetes. The good news is your Marshfield Clinic health professional can help you reduce the risk for complications as Ronda Mueller, Mondovi, Wisconsin discovered.

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