Gout in Ankle: Symptoms and Home Remedies

Arthritis is basically a joint disorder that causes inflammation in one or more joints of the body. As such, there are more than 100 types of arthritis.

But the most common ones can be classified as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylosis, gout, etc.

What Is Gout?

In medical terms, gout is a complex form of inflammatory arthritis condition which is caused due to the build-up of uric acid.

Although it can affect varied body parts, it is most common in the joints of the foot and big toe.

The first and foremost diagnostic tool helpful for ruling out gout in the foot or ankle is by proper physical examination.

With mere examination, most experienced physicians can confirm the existence of gout in the ankle joint.

In case of a doubtful diagnosis, you can go for a complete blood test added with levels of blood uric acid check-up. Most of the time blood test will give you a clear diagnosis of the condition.

In case if the blood reports also fail to rule out gout in the foot then your doctor can use other diagnostic tools like imaging techniques.

The major imaging techniques which help in confirming the ankle gout are X-rays, CT-Scan, MRIs, etc.

Even sometimes the tests like bone density test and bone biopsy also help in confirming gout in the ankle and foot.

Causes Of Gout In Ankle

As said before, gouty arthritis is a condition that occurs in the human body due to the accumulation of a substance called uric acid in the bloodstream.

This abnormal accumulation of uric acid in the bloodstream happens due to excess workload on the liver and kidneys.

When this happens it leads to the deposition of uric acid crystals all over the body mainly over the joints.

Initially the uric acid deposits as a solution. But on long-standing, the uric acid solution becomes uric acid crystals.

Slowly it starts pressuring the nearby parts of the joints like tendons, cartilage, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels.

This ultimately leads to damage of the joint tissues and thus creates unwanted and unbearable pain along with swelling.

Gout may happen in all the joints of the body but primarily it affects the base of the big toe and the ankle joints.

The ankle joint is the principal joint for balancing the whole body.

And as gout occurs initially in the ankle joints; it creates much trouble for the person in performing the day-to-day daily tasks.

Signs and Symptoms of Gout in Ankle

The initial signs and symptoms of gout in the ankle joint are redness, hard swelling, discomfort, and tenderness.

This may sometimes lead to disability or a limited range of motion if not cared for initially.

In many cases, sudden intense pain of gouty feet feels like your foot is on the fire. Sometimes these symptoms are also accompanied by fever and chills.

How long does a gout attack last?

On average, a gout attack may last from 3 days to a week.

However, in a few cases where the problem is severe/stubborn, it may take from 10 days to a few weeks to get the recovery (with or without medications).

It has been seen that there are people who experienced only a single attack of gout in their lifetime.

They actually controlled and avoided future attacks by making certain dietary changes and following natural remedies.

It is important to seek proper medical care as soon as you feel infectious gout in your foot or ankle.

Failing can cause conditions to worse out including severe foot pain and joint damage.

What Triggers Gout Flare-Ups And Prevention Tips?

Ankle gout can be extremely painful and can lead to complex conditions if not cared for at initial levels.

Knowing about certain factors that trigger gout pain can be most helpful not only in avoiding the problem but also in curing and managing it effectively.

Following are the most common risk factors which can trigger the problem:

Diet:

Surprising but true, your diet and food items are one of the major causes of triggering gout pain in your foot and ankle.

Studies reveal that food items such as red meat, organ meat, seafood, and many types of fishes are the foods to avoid with gout as these are purine-rich and cause problems.

Alcohol (especially beer) and beverages that are rich in sugar also increases the levels of uric acid in your body and therefore put you at higher risk of getting intense gout pain.

Medical conditions and Medications:

Health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart, and kidney diseases, if left untreated for long can affect your health adversely by causing many future problems like foot gout.

It is therefore good to take necessary preventive measures and regular health check-ups after a certain age so that you can avoid all these conditions easily.

Experts also suggest that you should limit yourself from taking certain medications like diuretics and aspirin which can put you at risk of getting higher gout pain in the ankle as it increases the level of uric acid.

Family History, Age, and Gender:

Your chances of suffering from gout conditions can also be increased if you have someone in your family who previously suffered from it.

Studies also reveal that men between the ages of 35-50 and women after their menopause are at increased risk of showing the symptoms of gout.  

Besides the above, few other gout risk factors include:

• Obesity
• Trauma
• Recent surgery

How To Prevent Gout Attacks Naturally?

These risk factors if not controlled or avoided can not only cause severe painful conditions but also can lead to more complex conditions such as recurrent gout, advanced gout, kidney stones, etc.

Based on the above risk factors, it is good to know that making certain changes in diet can help in preventing gout effectively.

Some of these habits which can protect against gout attacks in the future include:

• Limiting or avoiding alcohol intake
• Drinking plenty of fluids and water
• Exercising regularly to strengthen up your feet
• Reducing the body weight by taking a healthy diet
• Avoiding fatty dairy products, meat, fish, and poultry

In addition to these preventive measures, you can use a cane stick while walking and raise your feet while resting.

This can be helpful in avoiding frequent gout attacks when you are already affected by gout in the feet.

Gout In Ankle Treatment and Best Home Remedies

As the primary cause for gout in the ankle is the accumulation of uric acid crystals, the measure which helps to reduce the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints can only help in getting rid of ankle gout pain permanently and fast.

An important chemical that helps in reducing or controlling the uric acid levels in the blood is bromelain.

Bromelain supplements are therefore recommended by doctors for treating gout in the ankle and foot.

The chemical bromelain is also highly available in pineapple.

Hence consuming pineapple daily (two to three slices) acts as one of the best home remedies for gout in the ankle.

This will gradually help in reducing the uric acid levels in the blood and thus leads to reducing the swelling and pain in the affected joints.

Fruits such as bananas are rich in fiber and contain low purines.

It also contains high levels of potassium that helps in converting uric acid crystals into liquid form (making it easy to excrete out of the body).

Adding 1-2 bananas to your daily diet can, therefore, help a lot in managing the gout condition effectively at home naturally.

Apple cider vinegar for gout is also many times recommend by medical experts.

ACV benefits are unlimited and it can actually help manage lots of other health conditions (in addition to gout in the feet).

You can, therefore, take this on a regular basis daily to cure your pain and inflammation.

Few other natural home remedies and ingredients that can provide immediate gout pain relief are:

• Ginger root
• Baking soda
• Epsom salt
• Apple
• Cherry
• Lemon juice
• Activated charcoal

In addition to the above, avoiding a non-vegetarian diet, drinking plenty of water, and doing exercises regularly will help a lot in treating gout.

Taking enough rest and applying the cold compress also helps a lot.

Incoming search terms:

• gout in ankle
• ankle gout symptoms and treatment
• ankle gout