Have you ever heard of Gout?

Gout (Gouty Arthritis) is a painful arthritic disease that causes severe inflammation, pain, redness, and swelling.

Patients declare that, without treatment and care, gout is debilitating, often leading to an inability to work or live life normally.

Gout occurs when too much uric acid (human waste — a byproduct of normal metabolic function) builds up in the body and isn’t excreted normally. An issue that, in and of itself, can lead to many other problems, including crystal build-up and kidney stones.

Here are 6 facts about gout:

1. Though uric acid is normally absorbed by the blood, in the case of gout, it is not. This occurs when the body ups the levels of uric acid it makes, when the kidneys fail to excrete it.

2. Your chances of gout increases when: you are male, if it runs in your family, if you are overweight, if you drink too much alcohol, or if you have had an organ transplant.

3. Gout has the potential to cause under-skin nodules.

4. Another large contributor to whether you will get gout is related to the amount of sugary drinks you consume. A recent study found that people who consume at least two sugary soft drinks a day increase their risk of gout by 85%.

5. Scientists have also found that those who consume cherries may slightly lower their risk of getting gout.

6. Visiting a podiatrist may only take you so far; those who suffer multiple attacks of gout a year need to set up their own prevention plan to curb the onset of acute attacks themselves.

If you are living with the pain caused by gout, you don’t have to. Visit Nagler Foot Center online at www.FootHouston.com or call 713.529.1010 to help eliminate and treat your gout symptoms, and live a life free from pain.