Gout disease can begin in various joints of the body, most often it occurs for the first time in the foot. There are two different localizations of the gout foot, which are typical: with a total of about 60%, the base joint of the big toe is the most common initial manifestation, followed by the ankle joint and the tarsal. Symptoms include severe pain, especially at rest, as well as swelling, redness, overheating and, as a result, reduced joint function. Often, these complaints in the foot occur at night, which in turn leads to sleep problems and the next morning stress problems for those affected.
Gout foot – symptoms
A gout foot manifests itself – as with every manifestation of gout – with typical symptoms of inflammation. The affected joint is usually clearly swollen, reddened and overheated. This results in severe pain in the foot at the respective joint.
The pain often occurs at rest; typically, the gout foot begins its complaints at night. The pain usually lasts for a few days, followed by a period without symptoms until the pain reoccurs. In chronic gouty arthritis, so-called gouty tophies, i.e. hard deposits of uric acid, can form on the gouty foot, which occur mainly along the joints and tendon sheaths of the muscles.
Gout in the foot toe
The first appearance of gout occurs in 60% of all affected people in the foot toe, more precisely in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe. This form of gout is also called podagra and is considered very typical. Therefore, a medical examination is recommended when night-time pain, swelling in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe, redness and overheating occur. The gout in the foot toe often leads to restrictions in the daily life of those affected, for example, wearing tight shoes is very uncomfortable or sometimes temporarily impossible. This becomes particularly relevant when gout tophi, i.e. hard deposits of uric acid, occur.
