Bunions Health Video

Bunions are painful structural deformities of the large joints in the foot, get expert tips and advice on treatments and surgeries in this medical video.

Take Action

Wear proper foot gear
Seek medical attention
Take all doctor prescribed medications
Discuss surgical options

About this Author

Jonathon J. Uy, DPM is a board-certified podiatrist from the American Board of Multiple Specialties in Podiatry, Prevention and Treatment of diabetic foot wounds and in diabetic footwear. He holds degrees from the Barry University, the School of Podiatric Medicine in Miami Shores, Fla. and Boston University College of Engineering in Boston, Mass. He obtained a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree and a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering, respectively. Uy did his postgraduate training at the California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco, MedPremises Surgery Center in San Diego, and at the BUSPM/Columbia Cedars Medical Center in Miami, Fla. Uy also holds many memberships and positions on some of the finest podiatric boards and associations in the country.

JONATHON UY, M.D.: Hello, my name is Dr. Jonathon Uy and I'm going to talk about bunions. Bunions are basically is a common foot deformity and is usually shown as a lump or enlargement of the bone and typically as you can see on the foot model, it is usually located on the big toe joint here or on the little toe joint there; but bunions is a general term and it basically is enlargement of the bone on certain parts of the foot. The symptoms are usually, of course, other than the lump that is shown by the bone, but there can be associated pain, swelling and sometimes redness. These symptoms are usually caused by the way the person is walking and the joint is rubbing and causing irritation as well as it can be due to rubbing in the shoe gear. The treatments are basically two avenues, conservative and surgical. Conservative treatment include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are basically like ibuprofen, Naprosyn, and other medications that are prescribed by your physician and also other modalities, such as orthotics which are devices that you slip in your shoes as well as proper shoe gear. Those are the most important ones to help prevent and relieve the pain. If the pain does not resolve, usually the next step is surgery; but prior to all these treatment plans, an x-ray is need to evaluate the joint area and to determine if there is any possible symptoms of fracture or arthritis that maybe the cause of foot problem. The best thing to do is once you have a bunion, is to seek professional help as soon as possible.