Having severe pain and swelling in your toes!! Have you checked your uric acid levels?
When our body breaks down substances known as purines, then we could get uric acid is a known fact. It is noteworthy that purines are produced by our body as well as present in some drinks and foods etc. Foods that contain purines are red meat, seafood alcohol etc. Point is that normally uric acid is dissolved in the blood and gets filtered by the kidneys and excreted through urine.
In some persons, uric acid is produced in excess amounts and or kidneys do not eliminate enough of uric acid and it would get built up in the blood. This is termed as hyperuricemia. Bitter fact is that the presence of high amounts of uric acid in us would be harmful for our health.
Various health issues that we can get due to high uric acid in us are
Gout:
Urate crystals would be formed in our joints if we have high uric acid in us. This could result in gout. Persons with gout would have severe pain plus redness, swelling, inflammation etc in them. Big toe would be affected by gout.
Kidney stones:
It is noteworthy that excess uric acid could get crystallised in the kidneys leading to kidney stones. Persons with kidney stones would show symptoms like severe pain in lower back or abdomen, difficulty in urinating, nausea etc.
CKD issue:
Chronic kidney disease or CKD could be due to high uric acid in us. Other factors for getting CKD are high Bp and diabetes etc. It must be taken into account that persistent hyperuricemia can impair kidney function through inflammation.
High BP:
Having high uric acid could lead to high blood pressure or hypertension issues. High uric acid could damage the blood vessels and would reduce nitric oxide leading to hypertension.
Cardiovascular disease:
There are more chances of getting serious issues like heart attacks and strokes if a person has high uric acid in them. Arteries in us would get damaged and plaque would get formed due to inflammation and oxidative stress etc caused by high uric acid.
Type -2 diabetes:
Insulin resistance in a person would get increased due to high uric acid and this can lead to type-2 diabetes. Truth is that we could get metabolic disturbances in us due to inflammation and oxidative stress caused by high uric acid.
Damage to joints:
If left untreated, high uric acid can also lead to permanent damage to the joints. It must be noted that continuous deposition of urate crystals would lead to erosion of cartilage and bones. This can lead to deformities and less mobility etc.
Fatigue and weakness:
Chronic inflammation in the body can be due to high uric acid in us. This would cause muscle weakness, generalised fatigue etc.
Skin issues:
There are possibilities of getting small painful lumps known as topi when uric acid crystals get accumulated under the skin. Bitter fact is that topi could burst and it can release chalky kind of material leading to skin issues.