Swelling of The Top of The Foot Symptom, Causes & Questions

Familial hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder that causes LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels to be very high. The condition begins at birth and can cause heart attacks at an early age.

Rarity: Common

Top Symptoms: swollen achilles, achilles tendon pain

Symptoms that never occur with familial hypercholesterolemia: achilles tendon pain

Urgency: Primary care doctor

Gout

Gout is a form of arthritis that causes sudden pain, stiffness, and swelling in a joint. The big toe is often affected.

Rarity: Common

Top Symptoms: swollen toes

Urgency: Primary care doctor

Foot sprain

A foot sprain is damage to ligaments within the foot. The term "sprain" refers to overstretching or tearing of ligaments — the strong, fibrous bands of tissue that hold the bones together within the joints. Foot sprains are usually sports or dance injuries. Any sort of running movement that involves sudden stops, starts, and twisting can lead to a foot sprain. Suddenly getting the foot caught while walking or running can wrench the ligaments and cause a sprain.

Symptoms include(https://www.buoyhealth.com/symptoms-a-z/painful-foot-swelling/), bruising, and pain in the affected foot, especially with weight-bearing. If symptoms do not resolve quickly or seem to get worse instead of better, a medical provider should be seen to make sure no fracture is involved.

The diagnosis is made through physical examination and imaging such as X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, or MRI.

Treatment is usually conservative and involves rest to allow healing; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain; elevating the foot to improve circulation; wrapping the foot with an Ace bandage or wearing a special boot for support.

Rarity: Common

Top Symptoms: pain in one foot, foot injury, limping, warm red foot swelling, swelling of one foot

Symptoms that always occur with foot sprain: pain in one foot, foot injury

Symptoms that never occur with foot sprain: recent cutting accident

Urgency: Phone call or in-person visit

Nail infection (paronychia)

Paronychia is an infection of the skin of the fingers or toes, at the place where the skin folds down to meet the nail.

Acute, or sudden onset, paronychia is caused by the staphylococcus bacteria. The organism can gain entry if the nail is cracked, broken, bitten, or trimmed too closely.

Chronic, or ongoing, paronychia is caused by a fungus. Anyone whose work requires their hands to be wet much of the time is susceptible.

People with diabetes or a weakened immune system are more susceptible to nail infections.

Symptoms include sore, reddened, swollen skin around the nail, sometimes with pus collecting under the skin.

Diagnosis is made through physical examination and sometimes skin culture to identify the organism involved.

Treatment for acute paronychia involves having a medical provider clean the wounded nail and drain any infection, and sometimes provide a course of antibiotics.

Treatment for the chronic form involves keeping the skin dry and using an antifungal medication on the affected nail.

Rarity: Rare

Top Symptoms: spontaneous finger pain, fingernail pain, fingernail swelling

Urgency: Phone call or in-person visit

Ankle arthritis

Arthritis simply means inflammation of the joints. Because the feet and ankles have many small joints and carry the weight of the body, they are often the first place that arthritis appears.

Arthritis is caused by a breakdown in the protective cartilage at the end of each joint, so that the bones begin to wear against each other and the joint becomes stiff and painful. This breakdown may be due to simple wear and tear; an injury; or from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition which causes the body to break down its own cartilage.

Symptoms include swelling, warmth, and redness in the joint, and pain with movement or with pressure on the joint.

Diagnosis is made through patient history, physical examination, and imaging such as x-rays, CT scan, or MRI.

There is no cure for arthritis, but treatment is important because the symptoms can be managed to prevent further damage, ease pain, and improve quality of life. Treatment involves physical therapy, pain-relieving medications, and sometimes surgery to help repair damaged joints.

Rarity: Uncommon

Top Symptoms: swollen ankle, swollen foot, joint stiffness, pain in one ankle, ankle stiffness

Urgency: Self-treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis is a general term for multiple conditions that cause painful inflammation and stiffness throughout the body. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic condition that is autoimmune in nature, meaning that the body's immune system which normally protects the body by attacking foreign pathogens mistakenly begins attacking the own body's tissues. In adults, RA is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis caused by autoimmunity.

RA is caused by the immune system attacking the lining of the joints (synovium). This immune activity results in inflammation in the synovium that causes it to thicken and expand. The thickening destroys the cartilage and bone of the joint and causes the tendons and ligaments of the joint to weaken and stretch.

Over time, the cartilage loss continues, the space between bones becomes smaller, and eventually the joint becomes loose, painful and unstable. As the condition becomes more advanced, RA can also affect multiple organ systems, including the eyes, skin, lungs and the cardiovascular system.

Diagnosis is through physical examination, blood tests, and X-rays.

Treatments include lifestyle modifications, several classes of medications, and sometimes surgery.

Rarity: Rare

Top Symptoms: fatigue, depressed mood, joint pain, muscle aches, daytime sleepiness

Urgency: Primary care doctor

To diagnose this condition, your doctor would likely ask the following questions:

• Where exactly is your foot swelling?
• What is your body mass?
• Do you have a history of high cholesterol?
• Do you have high blood pressure?

The above questions are also covered by our A.I. Health Assistant.

People who have experienced swelling of the top of the foot have also experienced:

• 18% Pain In The Top Of The Foot
• 4% Pain In One Foot
• 3% Foot Pain

People who have experienced swelling of the top of the foot were most often matched with:

• 37% Familial Hypercholesterolemia
• 37% Gout
• 25% Foot Sprain

People who have experienced swelling of the top of the foot had symptoms persist for:

• 31% Less than a week
• 26% Less than a day
• 22% Over a month

Source: Aggregated and anonymized results from visits to the Buoy AI health assistant (check it out by clicking on “Take Quiz”).