Of course, I’ve checked WebMD and other allied sites, so ZOMG I’M GONNA DIE is a possibility.
Anyway, for the past month or so, the end joint on my second right toe has been red, swollen, and painful. At first, I thought it was because the new socks I had just purchased were too small, and they were, but wearing bigger socks hasn’t helped.
Today, I have a new symptom: numbness in that same toe. I’m one of those people whose second toe is a few millimeters longer than the big toe. Ibuprofen handles the pain but I was wondering what other Dopers might think.
I did see a paronychia (infected nail) that looked a lot like this, except there’s no pus. As of right now, I do think it can wait until next Tuesday.
Get this, however: I had a dermatologist’s appointment on Thursday and didn’t even think to mention my toe, because it wasn’t what I told the scheduler and my toe wasn’t hurting at the time. D’oh! (Chances are, they couldn’t have done anything anyway.)
Oh, and Merry Christmas or whatever (generic) you may celebrate.
That’s possible, although as a 60-something woman, it’s not as likely, and this doesn’t seem to be affected by what I eat. I did look that up.
My father (RIP) had several acute gout attacks, in his big toe joint, that followed indulging in his favorite snacks, which included almonds and sardines. IDK how strong the genetic link is.
Dad did say this picture was a good description of what he experienced. (I’ve read the book, too; don’t remember much about it but it was interesting.)
IAN any kinda anything but a fellow commiserator.
My toe did that. My toe was found to be out of joint. As soon as the doctor popped it back in the pain started. It felt better numb.
It was black and blue all the way up to my arch for a week or so.
When they said it wasn’t broken I got no more sympathy. Seems my jerks think I wasn’t injured enough to warrant it.
I broke my big toe, also on the right foot, by accidentally ramming it into a corner of a room in my house in the 00s. The proximal (closest) bone was basically split lengthwise (yep, it hurt) and I had to wear a special shoe for about 2 months.
I just thought I had stubbed my toe, until I put on my old sneakers to go mow the lawn, and felt something bend that shouldn’t have. YEEE-OWTCH! To the ER I went.
My impression is that gout, while common, is frequently misdiagnosed. I looked for a link to prove I was correct, and quickly found one, although it is from 1991:
I guess that nearwildheaven does’t have a trusted primary care provider, explaining the post here. But that’s the need.
I think women can get gout. Just not as often.
I knew a heavy drinking woman who suffered with gout.
I’m always afraid of gout. My Daddy had many episodes. Mr.Wrek has mild episodes. Rhuemtologist told him psoriatic arthritis might be it. He was tested. It is gout.
Does sound like a gout attack, but I’m not a doctor and I’m sure there are lots of other things it could be.
To me my gout attacks feel like you had a really nasty traumatic foot injury like some of the ones described here. But there was no injury you just woke up like that (or for me maybe the first day or two feels like a slight sprain that could be walked off, but the subsequent days feel like something really nasty happened to your foot)
I do have gout high on my differential diagnosis list. Take some NSAIDs (if you have no contra-indication to them) and get it checked out as you’re able. If it’s red hot and swollen upon exam, they might want to do a joint aspiration and look for crystals. Otherwise a quick uric acid level check may help diagnose it, though not all gout attacks occur when the uric acid is higher than normal.
The DDx list otherwise includes a host of other things including degenerative arthritis, inflammatory arthritis, pseudogout, and more.
I do have a PCP, and I’m going to call him on Tuesday. Thanks, everyone!
Like I said, I’ve been able to knock it back with ibuprofen (400 to 600mg, once or twice a day) but it isn’t improving so I’ll get it checked out.
And yeah, there’s the walk-in clinic if things get REALLY bad. I’m not going to the ED unless my foot looks or feels like that picture I posted earlier in this thread. ETA: I never had kids, but I’ve had women tell me things like “I would rather have had 10 babies in a row than go through something like that!”
AFAIK, Dad never took any meds for his besides a few days of Celebrex. Dietary modifications did the job.
I’ve had gout. But in the big toe/s only. That’s where you often get it. I kind of doubt from your description it’s gout. Ibuprofen does not even touch the pain. At least not for me.
Can you see a podiatrist? (Yeah, it’s Christmas weekend…) My first thought was gout, too. If it was just badly stubbed, or even broken, I’d expect the pain to be reduced by going barefoot.