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Could A Painful And Swollen Big Toe In A 20-year-old Be Due To Gout?
Question: my daughter went to primary care dr today. She has a swollen, excruciating painful swollen, hot big toe. He doesn't know what's wrong with it. She's 20 and he didn't really think it was gout
He put her on steroids
He put her on steroids
Brief Answer:
different possible causes
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Gout would be very very uncommon at her age but medicine is not absolute and people do not follow text books (according to med school profs) . Gout should be ruled out with a simple blood test to determine her uric acid level. A complete blood count to check for infection.
Swelling, pain and increased warmth are part of the body's inflammatory response.
The other causes of inflammation are- (1) infection of the soft or bony tissue of the toe
(2)trauma- an x ray would help with this
(3)other forms of arthritis eg lupus, rheumatoid but these do not usually present in this way.
Uric levels and a complete blood count would take less than 24 hours to process in most places.
In the meantime, she can use an anti inflammatory medication unless there is a history of allergy eg naproxen or ibuprofen or indomethacin
If there is an infection, then antibiotics would be needed
If uric acid levels are high then additional medication to reduce the level may be needed
I hope this helps and she feels better soon, feel free to ask any other questions
different possible causes
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Gout would be very very uncommon at her age but medicine is not absolute and people do not follow text books (according to med school profs) . Gout should be ruled out with a simple blood test to determine her uric acid level. A complete blood count to check for infection.
Swelling, pain and increased warmth are part of the body's inflammatory response.
The other causes of inflammation are- (1) infection of the soft or bony tissue of the toe
(2)trauma- an x ray would help with this
(3)other forms of arthritis eg lupus, rheumatoid but these do not usually present in this way.
Uric levels and a complete blood count would take less than 24 hours to process in most places.
In the meantime, she can use an anti inflammatory medication unless there is a history of allergy eg naproxen or ibuprofen or indomethacin
If there is an infection, then antibiotics would be needed
If uric acid levels are high then additional medication to reduce the level may be needed
I hope this helps and she feels better soon, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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