So you're lying in bed at night and all of a sudden you start feeling a sensation coming from your foot...kind of like a pulsing.
And it gets more magnified...bigger and bigger...more and more painful.
Suddenly, you need to tear the bedsheets off of your foot because anything that comes near it is causing it to be tremendously painful.
Welcome to the world of Gout.
Gout is a condition that is due to the build up of a high concentration of uric acid crystals in the bloodstream. Uric acid is formed by the breakdown of protein. So someone who has a high protein diet, full of red meat, shellfish, or organ meat, is very prone to developing the uric acid crystals and forming gout.
Similarly, because we live in a hot and humid environment of Houston, TX, we dehydrate. If you dehydrate, it reduces your blood volume and increases the concentration of uric acid. That can also cause a gout attack.
Gout is one of the more painful things that I see in the office. It leads to a red, hot, swollen foot, which I can diagnose from the doorway. I barely have to walk into the treatment room to see if someone has gout.
If you've had a sudden onset of pain, your foot has become very swollen, and it hurts so much you can't even form words, give us a call for an immediate appointment. We'll make sure to get you in and take care of you. There are good ways to quickly eliminate the pain you are feeling.
