Homeopathy eases the twinge of gout safely

Homeopathy eases the twinge of gout safely

Pradyuman (47) visited us with long-standing persistent pain and swelling in his left big toe. He said there was no respite from the twinge, despite conventional medical treatment. When we began to take his case-history, we found that Pradyuman felt better with ice-packs placed on the painful area. We prescribed him the homeopathic Ledum Pal. Within a week’s time, his pain and swelling subsided.

There was a time when gout, or gouty arthritis, was touted as the “rich man’s folly.” Not anymore — blame it on too much of junk-food, alcohol, obesity, crash-dieting, stress, surgery or joint injury.  Gout is characterised by pain in the big toe, which feels like “a bolt of fire” with each step. It can affect the knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist and also fingers, no less.

Gout often affects men between ages 40 and 50; it can also affect the younger age group. Women tend to develop gout after menopause.  Gout occurs owing to surplus uric acid in the blood, tissues and urine. Uric acid is a by-product of foods rich in purine — such as poultry, meat and seafood. Nearly 70 per cent of individuals who suffer from gout have too much uric acid, while others cannot eliminate it, or show a family history. Elevated levels of uric acid can also be a sign of poor kidney function.

Homeopathic treatment involves prescribing minute doses of natural medicines that produce the same symptoms of gout in healthy people, if they were given in larger doses. When one presents with gout, or any other disorder, the professional homeopath selects suitable remedies based on the overall symptom-picture of the individual, their lifestyle, character, emotional state, stress levels, diet and family history. Every individual with gout is also treated as distinctively different, because each of us is uniquely influenced in health and illness.

Homeopathy is holistic, energy medicine. It seeks to stimulate the body’s own defence mechanisms to heal and restore balance — and, not merely use drugs, as is the custom in conventional medicine, to suppress symptoms of gout. Homeopathy provides effective and tangible respite from gouty distress and inflammation. It also helps to reduce the possibility of repeated episodes.