Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    spookbaby12000's Avatar
    spookbaby12000 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Aug 28, 2011, 11:50 PM
    Knee pain and ankle swelling
    My husband woke up one morning with knee pain, and thought maybe he had slept on it wrong or pinched a nerve. As the day went on, it started to swell and got warm to the touch. He stayed off it, applied ice off and on, wore a knee brace, and elevated it. Two days later, it's not any better or worse. He says it hurts to put all his weight on it. He doesn't remember hurting it, even though he did go skating a few days before it started to hurt, and he did fall and scrape that knee. There is no redness or infection on the scrape and it's almost healed. Just today, he noticed the ankle on the bad leg is starting to swell now. He has no health insurance and is out of work right now, so we'd like to avoid the doctor unless it's an emergency. Thank you for your time.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
    Expert
     
    #2

    Aug 29, 2011, 02:41 AM
    Avoiding the doctor unless it is an emergency is not a good idea, especially if he has to walk on that bad leg. We can't diagnose on AMHD so the best way to avoid a serious issue, if it is not too late already, is to visit the doctor. If he hasn't got the complete use of his leg, what other alternative do you have ?

    Tick
    CliffARobinson's Avatar
    CliffARobinson Posts: 1,416, Reputation: 101
    Ultra Member
     
    #3

    Aug 29, 2011, 03:56 AM
    I will preface this answer by repeating what 'Tickle' said. We cannot diagnose, and the following comments are not intended to be a diagnosis, only the opinion of someone who suffers from a particular condition that sounds similar to what your husband is experiencing. You will need to see a Dr to get treatment even if my observation is correct. Having said that here is my answer:

    It sounds like it might be gout. Is he overweight? Eat lots of processed meats, organ meats, drink a lot of alcohol?

    Gout is what happens if there is too much uric acid being produced in your body. The process of breaking down the excess amount can lead to crystals forming that lodge in joints. The most common is the big toe. Knees, feet, ankles, they can all be involved, generally only one is involved, but there can be a combination.

    OTC anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen and a natural health aide - pure, natural, no sugar added Cherry Juice can be given to see if it is in fact gout. I'm talking 100% cherry juice, not the stuff they call "juice" and it's loaded with corn syrup. 100% Cherry juice.

    Drink the whole bottle along with a lot of water in one day. If he starts feeling better, you know what you're dealing with. You can go to a clinic and ask them to test his uric acid. He will need a pill a day, either allopurinol or probenecid, and possibly a special pain reliever known as colchicine for the pain. Both are prescriptions. The latter is now a patented drug of what used to be, until this year, a natural occurring herb introduced to the US from France by Benjamin Franklin.

    A big pharma company decided to patent their synthesized product, and now it costs a lot. But, once the pain goes away you will not need the colchicine as long as he takes the daily uric acid reducer. Periodic Uric Acid blood tests will be needed for any adjustments.

    If it is gout, he also needs to adjust his diet and drink a lot more water to clear his system. The biggest culprits for me are mushrooms and pork. The element you are trying to avoid is called purines.

    Some purine-rich foods include: mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, anchovies, sardines, herring, liver, kidney, legumes, gravies, and alcohol - to name a few.

    I say try the anti-inflammatory and 100% cherry juice because it's OTC and you'll know pretty soon if it is gout. Also, add ice packs for the swelling.

    Let me know what happens.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Hard lump on leg between knee and ankle [ 1 Answers ]

My husband recently developed a big hard lump on the front of his left leg between his knee and foot. It is hard to the touch Other than bad headaches he is in pretty good health. This past year he went to WW and lost 115 lbs.Do you have any idea what it could be?

Lateral knee pain; stiffness behind knee [ 1 Answers ]

I'm an active 51 year old tennis player and golfer. I tore my medial meniscus in January and elected to rehab vs surgery. Now 3 months later pain has moved laterally and I'm getting stiffness behind my knee. MRI showed meniscus tear in posterior horn inferior and a small Baker's cyst. Treatment...

Knee swelling [ 1 Answers ]

I have a lump on my knee ,I have had it about 5 weeks at first it was quite squashy and painless ,but now it as gone hard and my knee is starting to ache and I can't kneel on it .its about the size of half a golf ball :confused:


View more questions Search