What Does Tophi Look Like?

Tophi, plural
for Tophus, are deposits of uric
acid crystals at and around the joints of someone afflicted with Chronic Gout. They can grow into
grotesque looking lumps with an appearance of a chalky substance or a cottage
cheese texture. They can take on a whitish or yellowish color and can either
grow hardened or be somewhat soft and pliable.

When chronic gout has been left
unattended and untreated for an unspecified length of time, the ongoing
presence of elevated uric acid levels can then lead the condition of Tophaceous Gout. At this point the
disease of gout can move to being considered life threatening.

Beyond the unattractive ugliness of the lumps, they can serve to create
permanent joint damage. If they become
ulcerated, they can become septic.

This is a severely dangerous
condition technically termed Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome or SIRS and the body develops this
inflammatory response by the immune system to microbes in the blood, urine,
lungs, skin, or other tissues. The common term is blood poisoning and is
often very hard to bring back under control.

Beyond the threat of SIRS, the
presence of Tophi signals extreme Acidosis
of the entire body. With the buildup of these crystals in and near the joints,
a very real and high likelihood of developing kidney stones is at hand. If kidney stones develop, the condition
can then move into a number of different Renal
Function Complications.

As an acidic state of health mounts,
it also brings with it the onset of many other common lifestyle related diseases;
Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, etc.

The typical western medicine
approach to managing gout is to prescribe Allopurnol
and Colchine, with other new pharmaceuticals
on the horizon. These prescription drugs are effective in the manner that they
are a good solution for those seeking above all else, “Convenience”.

They work with tolerable effectiveness
to limit the production of uric acid and mitigate inflammation, however, like
all western medicines they only serve to mask the symptoms and fail to address
the root cause of gout being, “how
did the body become so acidic?”

In our western world of
“convenience first”, these gout pharmaceuticals work well if the condition
of gout is viewed from the dietary point of view that “high uric acid is
caused by high purine foods”.

Acidosis is not
only created by the acidic foods and drinks we consume, but also by the toxic
chemicals in our air, what we touch, from chronic unintentional dehydration,
and our own metabolism due to Stress.

Learning to manage the pH of our body chemistry with the use
of alkaline foods and water, conscious breathing techniques, proper movement
and exercise, and emotional control, we can get to the root cause of what
creates the condition of gout and the unbearable intense pain that goes along
with it, as well as the complications and danger of tophi.

The onset of gout and tophi is just a painful omen that is best taken
seriously.