WHY DOES YOUR BIG TOE HURT?

Have you ever felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the big toe of your foot? Here may be your answer.

There are several reasons but I want to talk to you about pain produced because of GOUT.

Gout is a very painful type of arthritis that occurs because the body has too much uric acid accumulated. Uric acid crystals  are accumulate in the joints, and especially in the big toe causing excruciating pain in that area, swelling, redness, heat and may have stiffness in the affected joint.

Normally our body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines which are substances found in certain foods such as meat, pork, chicken, liver, lentils or broths of meat, sausages, etc. When uric acid can not be discarded entirely from our bloodstream through the kidneys or if a high intake of food is maintained with high percentages of purines, it is then that this excess uric acid is deposited in tissues and conjunctures  causing a lot of pain, swelling, reddening the affected area. The pain may appear suddenly and then disappear to refile crises two years after the first episode.

These foods should be consumed in moderation as they can cause gout attacks if the accumulation of these uric acid crystals called tophi accumulate in the joint and in the future may develop a chronic very uncomfortable and painful arthritis. It is therefore important to pay attention to this painful symptom in the big toe of our foot and take corrective action as soon as possible. Very high purine foods should be consumed in moderation.

Etiology:

Obesity

Family background

Excess fish and seafood in our diet.

High consumption of lentils, chickpeas and beans.

High consumption of mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, leeks and rábanas.

High consumption of red meat and sausages.

Some diuretic medications.

This chart will help you to recognize the group of food that are very high on purines and we need to avoid or reduce consumption. 

Recommendations:

Please try to avoid these foods or reduce their consumption.

Drink a lot of water to help your kidneys eliminate uric acid.

Avoid alcohol. This can be a painful trigger !

 Low salt intake. 

The level of uric acid in a healthy person should be between 2.4 mg / dl and 6.0 mg / dl for women and for men between 3.4 and 7 mg / dl.

If we gradually care about these small details, we will see a great improvement in our health as long as we pay attention to the signals sent when our body speaks. If you believe that this information has been helpful, please share my blog to keep growing. Thank you and  Greetings from Costa Rica. Cynthia R.