Gout Signs and Symptoms

Questions to Ask Your Doctor about Gout
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Gout usually develops in the joint of the first toe (i.e., the big toe, or hallux). It also can affect the ankle or knee. Common symptoms of gout include the following:

Inflammation
Pain
Redness
Stiffness
Swelling

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Touching or moving the toe may be intensely painful and patients often say that having as much as a bed sheet over the toe increases the pain. Symptoms of gout develop quickly (sometimes in 1 day) and typically occur in only one joint at a time. Rarely, symptoms develop in two or three joints simultaneously. If widespread symptoms occur, the condition is probably not gout. If left untreated, gout can damage joints and cause disability.

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Podiatrist-developed and -monitored.
Original Date of Publication: 01 Jan 2000
Reviewed by: John J. Swierzewski, D.P.M., Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Last Reviewed: 26 Jun 2007