The pain in your feet can be excruciating in a gout attack. If your body does not process uric acid normally in your body, it can crystallize and settle in any joint in your body. Most often, gout affects your feet, either in the big toe or in your heel. The crystallized uric acid causes inflammation in your joints, which results in the high levels of pain. The Mayo Clinic reports that gout is a type of arthritis. There is no cure for it, but proper diet and medications may help reduce the number and severity of attacks.
Pain
Gout may affect any part of your foot, largely because there are so many joints joining your bones together. The pain may occur in any of your toes, in your entire foot and spread up to your ankles. Gout also may occur in your hands, wrists and elbows, or in any joint. The pain is intense, particularly at the height of the attack. The Mayo Clinic reports that the pain that will be most severe generally occurs in the 12 to 24 hours after initial onset. However, it can last longer. Other problems can cause intense pain in your feet, but the sudden onset of the pain is indicative of gout.
Discomfort
While the most excruciating pain associated with a gout attack may pass within a day, that does not mean the attack is finished. Pain and discomfort can continue in the affected joints for days or even weeks. The Mayo Clinic states that after the first gout attack, you may get future gout attacks that continue for a longer period. The condition also may affect you in more of your joints than the first attack did.
Inflammation
The crystals or uric acid irritate the joints of your feet, which causes the inflammation. This is a common effect of other forms of arthritis, too. The difference is that the uric acid crystals will break up and that particular attack will end. It may be months or even years before you get another attack. Like other forms of arthritis, the inflammation in your joints is what causes the pain. It also can make your feet swell. The affected area usually will be red and warm to the touch.
