Solve Your Painful Gout Symptoms

Content

• Surgical Treatment
• What Can I Do About My Big Toe Pain?
• Learn More About Arthritis
• About Upmc Orthopaedic Care
• Why Flare
• When Should You Call Your Doctor?

Gout can cause inflammation in and around the affected joint. If gout affects your big toe, you may have trouble walking or fitting into your shoes without pain during a flare-up. Excruciating pain in the affected joint is by far the most common symptom of gout. Flare-ups can occur suddenly, and they often happen at night. Patients with gout often describe the pain as stabbing, needle-like pain that radiates from the affected joint.

Surgical Treatment

First-line treatment is quite effective and includes anti-inflammatory medications, ice therapy, and rest. A combination of diet and lifestyle changes and prescription drugs — an approach called urate-lowering therapy, or ULT — is typically recommended if attacks recur or become more severe. These painful attacks usually subside in hours to days with or without medication. Eating too much of these may increase uric acid levels in some people. These types of medications are used to reduce uric acid levels to less than 6 mg/dL. People with tophi may have a greater benefit with levels that are less than 5 mg/dL.

How long does it take to flush out uric acid?

With treatment, gout symptoms should start to improve in about three days. Without treatment, it may take up to 14 days.

These are strong anti-inflammatory medications that can be taken either in pill form, intravenously, or injected into the painful joint. Cortisone may improve the severe inflammation very quickly. Treatment for gout focuses on relieving pain during acute attacks, preventing future gout attacks, and reducing the risk of developing tophi and permanent joint damage. If your symptoms do not improve with initial treatments, your doctor may recommend a synovial fluid analysis.

What Can I Do About My Big Toe Pain?

The uric acid buildup that triggered your gout attack may still be irritating your joints and could eventually cause serious damage, like joint destruction and kidney damage. Tophi occur when the uric acid crystals build up and form small lumps. They can occur anywhere but commonly develop at pressure points, such as the elbows, or around hand or foot joints. Gout occurs due to an excess buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints and soft tissue, causing inflammation and intense pain.

Some people with severe chronic gout have only short breaks in between attacks and feel symptoms of gout most of the time. Arthritis is a common condition that causes swelling and pain in your joints. Gout is considered a chronic disease, meaning it does not have a cure and will usually last your whole life. If your doctor prescribes medicine to lower your uric acid levels, be sure to take it as directed. Most people will continue to take this medicine every day. In the past, gout was thought to be caused by drinking too much alcohol and eating too many rich foods.

When a gout episode begins, call your doctor and begin taking your medication. Your doctor may suggest that you keep a supply of medication on hand to take at the first sign of trouble. A sudden onset of joint pain and swelling that goes away after five to 10 days . It usually affects one joint at a time--often the large joint of the big toe. It also can affect other joints such as the knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist and elbow.

Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. AAOS does not endorse any treatments, procedures, products, or physicians referenced herein. This information is provided as an educational service and is not intended to serve as medical advice. We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and Indiana laws.

Learn More About Arthritis

The knee is the most common joint requiring replacement due to gout. In some cases, the large nodules of uric acid around finger or toe joints, tendons, or bursae need to be removed because they remain painfully inflamed. These nodules may also break open and drain or become infected.

Increased levels of uric acid , in the blood are the cause of gout. When this happens, severe pain, inflammation and a gout attack occur. When the body breaks down chemicals called purines, uric acid is produced. These purines are found in the body as well as in foods such as organ meat, asparagus, mushrooms and herring.

About Upmc Orthopaedic Care

The symptoms may come on suddenly and without warning. Gout is considered when a patient reports a history of repeated attacks of painful arthritis, especially at the base of the toes or in the ankles and knees. The most reliable test for gout is detecting uric acid crystals in the joint fluid obtained by joint aspiration.

Left untreated, the most intense phase of the first attack usually lasts 3-4 days, with the pain gradually subsiding over the following 3-4 days. Typically with gout, the pain and inflammation disappear on their own. Although gout can occur in many areas of the body, the big toe is most commonly afflicted. A gout attack can manifest in your big toe quickly, often in the middle of the night. The joint will swell, turn red, and feel warm to the touch, and will be extremely painful, even to touch it gently.

Your doctor may also get a blood test to look at the levels of uric acid. It should be noted, however, that uric acid levels rise and fall depending on many complex factors in your body. It is possible to have a normal uric acid level while you are having severe gout pain so this is not always a reliable indication of the presence of gout. Gout usually develops after a number of years of buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints and surrounding tissues. A gout attack usually starts during the night with moderate pain that grows worse. A gout attack typically causes pain, swelling, redness, and warmth in a single joint, most often the big toe.

Prescription medications or injections are used to treat the pain, swelling and inflammation. Losing weight, which helps reduce urate levels and can help stop or lower the number of flares you have if you are overweight or obese. Taking medications to manage the cause of your gout and treat active gout flares. With early diagnosis, treatment, and lifestyle changes, gout is one of the most controllable forms of arthritis.