High levels of uric acid can make uric acid crystallize in certain joint areas. One part that is often attacked by uric acid is the joints of the feet, especially in the big toe.
If you suffer from uric acid on the feet, you will feel pain in the joints and your joints will look red and swollen as well. High levels of uric acid, or hyperuricemia, does make pain. Nevertheless, you can try a few home therapy for hyperuricemia.
Treatment
The pain is not easy to remove in a short time, but you can follow the following steps on how to overcome uric acid on feet.
1. Reduce the Pain
If you feel tremendous pain in the joints of your feet caused by uric acid, you can take temporary painkillers such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or Naproven (Aleve). These types of drugs can reduce pain in your joints temporarily. This is the first aid when your uric acid recurs.
But try to avoid Aspirin because this drug can trigger an increase in blood sugar levels in your body. You can certainly take the medication prescribed by your doctor. Taking medication is a wise move to reduce the pain.
2. Compress the Joints
The pain in the legs due to uric acid is usually accompanied by swelling in the area around the joints. To ease the pain, you can compress it with cold water or ice cubes in the swollen area. Use a towel or cotton to wrap ice cubes, and then gently attach it to your swollen joints. Compress your swollen joints for 20 – 30 minutes. You can repeat this action two to three times a day. Compress is a simple and useful way to reduce pain and swelling in your joints.
3. Use a Stick
Uric acid will generally attack the joints of the big toe, so it will cause swelling in the back of the foot. Eventually the back of the foot turns reddish and pain arises. If that condition happens then you can use a stick to help you walk. The stick will help support your body so that your swollen feet do not receive excessive pressure. Pressure can aggravate the condition of your joints, making it more swollen and painful. Try to move as gently as possible.
4. Wear Special Socks
If you are used to wearing socks, then this will be a problem when your feet are swollen due to uric acid. Socks will put pressure on the joints so your swollen feet will feel more pain. Therefore you need to wear special socks that will not put pressure on your swollen feet. You can wear socks that are more loose or larger in size. Choose shoes that are comfortable to wear so that your joints do not experience pressure.
5. Place Your Feet in a Higher Place
Swelling of the joints on the feet will certainly interfere with your daily activities, even when you sleep. To ease the pain on your feet as you go to bed, place your swollen feet on the pillow. You can pile up two or three pillows if necessary. Make sure your feet are higher than your chest. This can reduce the pressure on the feet due to your movement while sleeping.
6. Set the Blanket Position
In addition to adjusting the position of your swollen feet, you also need to adjust the position of your blanket. Your swollen feet will feel more pain when accidentally wrapped in a blanket. Your swollen feet will also become more swollen due to the pressure created by your blanket over the night. Therefore avoid wearing thick blankets or just position your blanket down without touching your swollen feet.
7. Relax
It is the important step on how to overcome uric acid on feet. Most people with uric acid will feel pain in their joints and constantly complain and eventually panic because their feet become swollen and reddish. The first thing you should do when the pain starts to attack your joints is relax. Then remove your shoes and socks. Take medicine to relieve your pain. Stress will only worsen your condition. Do whatever it takes to keep you from stress. For example you can try yoga which is good to calm your mind.
8. Drink More Water
High levels of uric acid in the body can trigger pain in the joints. Drink 8 – 16 glasses of water per day to neutralize the high levels of uric acid in your body. In addition, drinking water is also useful to prevent the formation of kidney stones. Take a good look at your food. Avoid foods containing high purine substances such as offal. Avoid drinks containing fructose or sugar-sweetened beverages. Stop drinking alcohol and exercise more. Run a healthy lifestyle to keep your quality of life good despite having uric acid or gout. This advice is also one of ways to treat gout in hands.
9. Call Your Doctor
To prevent things worse, you can contact your doctor to find out which treatment is right for you. Pain due to uric acid can not be removed in the blink of an eye, it may take a day or two days. You should call your doctor immediately if the pain worsens. Doctors will usually give medicine to relieve the pain. If you have a history of uric acid, you should regularly check your health and consult your doctor.
Prevention
If you are a sufferer of uric acid, you certainly know that the pain due to high levels of uric acid in your body is very torture and interferes with your daily activities. Therefore you need to prevent the occurrence of uric acid attacks. You can practice some simple steps below in your daily life.
- You need to maintain your weight with a balanced and healthy diet. The ideal weight will not make your leg tortured when walking or standing too long. Avoid high calorie foods, high fat foods, high purine foods, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages. It seems your life will be no fun anymore. However, healthy lifestyle requires strong will and discipline.
- Consume foods and drinks high in calcium. If you regularly drink milk, choose low-fat milk. You must exercise regularly as well. Exercise can maintain your fitness and the health of your joints.
- Drink more water to compensate the purine that enters your body because high levels of purine will be converted by the body to uric acid. In addition, drinking water is good for your kidney health. Anyway, it’s good for you to know some early symptoms of kidney disease
All right, those are some ways on how to overcome uric acid on feet. Simple yet useful. Never take your health for granted. You must do your best to keep it. Health is priceless.