Today I woke up with sharp pain in my right toe..

Sleepy me was entering dreamland. I was running in the Sahara that too in a summer mid-noon. It was as hot as it gets. My running shoes were sinking in the hot sand with each step I laid and my toe started to hurt as well. It felt like the heat was burning my toe, the right big toe to be precise. As I kept running with the pain, which by now had become more intense. And when the pain became unbearable I woke up from my painful dream and as my luck would have it, my right big toe was hurting in real life.

Pain ranges from the foot to the toe and anywhere in between

Cause of my pain

Though the pain trigger was unknown yet this pain has been a part of my life for the past 7 years. It's due to my elevated level of uric acid in my blood. Uric acid is a natural waste product from the digestion of foods that contain purines. Purines are found in high levels in some foods such as:
  • certain meats
  • sardines or other sea food
  • yeast based food
  • beer
I am an avid food lover, mostly meat. Grilled, Roasted, Barbecued, Curried, Fried, Tandoori, Smoked, etc. I like my meat any way it comes and probably that caused the initial onset of elevated uric acid levels in my blood. Also, it's hereditary, as per medical professionals and my father has had his share of uncountable struggles with uric acid induced gout pain. 


Food that will help to cut down uric acid buildup in the blood

      

My experience during gout attack

I am describing it the way I have felt it. Others might beg to differ. Here I will insist that every individual experience can be different but some of you who have had the bad luck of experiencing this pain will relate to my agony.


The first feeling is when there is a sharp pain flowing down your calf muscle to the ankle. Then this pain reaches the toe area more likely near the big toe region. Here it feels like a thousand needles are pricking your bones. These are the uric acid crystals that are wreaking havoc upon your pain receptors. Your entire body begins to feel the shock of this sharp pain. Although the actual pain area could be only the big toe, your entire body starts to feel the experience of getting poked in the bones by hot forks of Satan himself. The local temperature of the toe region becomes slightly warmer than the entire body. Some inflammation can be seen in the area affected the most with a slightly reddish tinge on the skin. The pain is such that you might even cry irrespective of how tough you are. You become helpless to the pain and your family also can't do anything but watch you suffer the pain helplessly.


There is some remedy which can be practiced to reduce the pain momentarily like dipping your pain in hot water mixed with salt, using hot water rubber bag on the pain region, keeping your leg at a higher elevation than your body while lying on the bed, etc. Although these reduce the pain to an extent you have to bear the pain for at least 24-48 hours before the pain subsides unless you take some pain suppressants(which is not recommended for the long run).


How to reduce Uric Acid buildup

First, you can try with home remedies like a healthy balanced diet, exercise, and other healthy lifestyle changes that can improve gout and other illnesses caused by high uric acid levels. However, once you are a victim of high uric acid levels there is a high probability that home remedies can’t always replace necessary medical treatment. Hence you should consult a doctor, explain to him/her your medical history, and the issue that you want a consultation for, and then you should stick to the treatment plan the doctor has factored for your recovery. The right combination of diet, exercise, and medications can help keep symptoms at bay. Only then we will be able to fight this invisible evil caused by elevated uric acid level.


Hope that I was able to share my experience with you all. In case you want to comment if you too had the same experience or different experience altogether do feel free to do so. 




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