Burning, painful feet

This Week In The HSI Forum

When I came across a thread titled “Burning Feet” I thought this problem might have fairly limited interest. But when I saw there were 25 postings on the thread I knew something was up.

An HSI member named Neita starts off the thread with an appeal for assistance in helping her 80-year-old father. She writes:

“His feet are so painful that he can not stand the bedding to
touch them at night so he has built a cage that he puts his feet in which holds the bedding off them. The sensation is like being very sun burnt.”

Although this condition is somewhat rare, the responses to
Neita’s posting reveal that several HSI members are coping with it, and some have found natural ways to address the problem.

A member named Cindy correctly identifies the condition as
erythromelalgia, which can cause pain in any part of the body, but most frequently affects the hands and feet. And Cindy shouldknow, because she’s had burning feet for three years, and says, “I have been to a cardiologist, rheumatologist, vascular, neurologist, orthopedic, internal medicine, and even a foot doctor. Nobody has a clue!!! My feet will turn red as an apple and burn as if I walked on burning coals literally.” And although she doesn’t know of a cure for erythromelalgia, she’s found relief in a number of ways, including mineral ice therapeutic gel and a cold wet towel applied to the feet.

A member named Sylvia says that both her husband and
mother-in-law had erythromelalgia and both were diabetic, in
which case it could be associated with neuropathy, a nervous system disorder (common to diabetics) that affects the extremities. Sylvia writes, “My husband started out with
Neurontin prescribed by his doctor which helped a lot.

Recently, the problem starting getting worse again, and I did some research and found that GLA found in Evening Primrose oil combined with alpha lipoic acid and vitamin C works well for neuropathy.”

Postings from several members suggest a number of treatments that brought relief to burning feet, including homeopathic sulfur, ibuprofen gel, and pantothenic acid. And a member named EAP writes simply, “The burning sensation of the soles of my feet were cured by a single visit to an acupuncturist!”

Rare as it may be, if you or someone you know is coping with erythromelalgia, log on to our web site at www.hsionline.com, and go to the Forum where you’ll find all of these helpful comments (and many more) on the subject of burning feet.

Other topics of interest on the HSI Forum this week include:

• “Treatment for liver fatty deposits”
• “Arch Supports”
• “Wobenzyme Questions”
• “Varicose Veins”
• “HEART – Wake-up call!”
• “Blood Pressure”

And for those of you who might be getting nervous over the dire predictions about the flu epidemic upon us, a thread titled “flu shot” has some good advice for anyone who chooses to avoid the shot. If you have comments or a personal experience to add to this or any of the dozens of other health topics being discussedon the Forum, log on and join in.

And now ’tis the season. I’m talking about football season,
of course. And the scene was very jolly at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium last Sunday when the Ravens played what I think was their best game since Super Bowl XXXV. It’s a rare thing in Baltimore to have a day of solid offense, stingy defense and, well, special special teams play. The result: 5 touchdowns by 5 different players, and 3 perfect Stover field goals. The 49ers were easily dispatched in a rout that made no one jolly in San Francisco, I’m sure. Next week it will be tougher going when theRavens host the Cincinnati Bengals. With the division — and a bit of pride — on the line , the Ravens are gearing up for what might prove to be the most important game of their regular season. The Bengals beat them in Cincinatti six weeks ago, but this time they’ll be in our yard, facing off against a transformed offensive team that’s scored 88 points in the past two games (85 of them in the past six quarters to be precise).

In short: It’s a whole new day and it’s payback time.