Gout Toe Attacks Can Affect All Your Toes

When people suffer from gout toe there is a range of gout symptoms that usually accompany it, burning, extremely painful to the touch, inflammation, all of these are signs of a gout attack. In most cases of gout arthritis attacks the big toe is more often the target. In fact there is no single type of joint inflammation (arthritis) related to gout. Gout toe is not limited to just the big toe it can include the smaller toes. Gouty arthritis can seem to spread to other parts of the foot causing inflammation, Gout can affect both feet at the same time but it’s not as common as an attack on just one side of the body.

Some the other areas of gout attacks can include the base of the big toe, arch of the foot, the ankle, and the knee. Gout can also affect the thumbs, fingers, wrists, and elbows. When an attack of gout toe occurs walking can become very difficult do to the fact that the big toe carries a portion of the body’s weight. A normal everyday routine we all take for granted, such as walking turns into an extremely painful task. This creates another problem, as we walk to compensate for an inflamed toe we put added stress on other parts of our feet leading to other foot disorders.

Gout toe is a result of excessive amounts of uric acid in the bloodstream. These increased levels of uric acid turn into uric acid crystals that lodge in the cartilage and soft tissues surrounding the joints and in the joints of the body itself. These sharp crystals irritate the surrounding areas causing inflammation, pain, and redness associated with an acute gout attack.

Elevated levels of uric acid (hyperuricemia) can result from high consumption of purine-rich foods. Diet is one factor that can contribute to high levels of uric acid. When trying to avoid purine-rich foods some examples to steer clear from would include: sweetbreads, sardines, anchovies, liver, beef kidneys, brains, meat extracts, herring, mackerel, scallops, and game meats. Other factors to consider when addressing diet would be water intake. Having sufficient amount of water daily will help the bodies natural function of passing excess uric acid out of the body via way of the urinary track. The average adult should drink eight ounces of water eight times a day (8 x 8 rule).

For gout toe relief some simple steps to alleviate the discomfort should include: using an ice pack to help reduce swelling and burning, switching over to heat is also a benefit as this will help dissolve the uric acid crystals lodged in the joint. The best way to overcome a gout attack would be to change your lifestyle to prevent an attack from ever occurring or lowering the frequency of the attacks. Changes in diet and a daily exercise routine have been proven to help in your overall health and to help with gout relief.