Acute Gout attacks have persistently occurred in victims dating back to the days of the Egyptians.
The earliest written records of gout date back to 2,600 BC when gouty arthritis of the big toe was first  noted.
Gout can be debilitating, leaving sufferers in such agonizing pain that the thought of even moving the affected joint can leave a person incapacitated and unable to partake in family life and work.
The unpleasant fact of many gout attacks is they most often occur at night while trying to rest.
Awakened by a searing heat sensation and agonizing pain, acute attacks of gout toe are more often the first sign of gouty arthritis.
Acidemia (low blood ph) increases the likelihood that uric acid in the blood will crystallize forming sharp needle shaped crystals.
These uric acid crystals collect and lodge in and around the soft tissues of cartilage and joints.
Gout toe is believed to be first affected due to the cooler temperatures of our extremities, the toes being furthest from the warmer core temperature of the torso, thus the cooler temperatures promote uric acid to form into crystals.
Acute gout attacks can last anywhere from one to two weeks depending on the severity of the attack.
In the search for gout relief a few tested and true home remedies listed here are still very effective today; see if any of these are right for you.
  

• For immediate gout relief ibuprofen can help with symptoms such as inflammation, swelling, stiffness and joint pain.
  This medicine will not cure gout and will only be effective with continued use.
  Some familiar names of ibuprofen are: Advil, Addaprin, Midol, Motrin Bufen, and Nuprin.
  A word of warning, studies on the use of aspirin during a gout attack is not recommended these findings are still not conclusive.
  Low dosage of aspirin have shown to increase uric acid in the blood, while high dosages of aspirin have been show to block the reabsorbing of uric acid by the kidneys.
  The safe choice would be to consult your doctor before using aspirin.
  Your primary care physician is the most qualified and familiar with your medical history in determining what course of action to take.
  

• Cold therapy for gout toe attacks can help relieve pain, burning sensation, and inflammation.
  The accepted method for this has always been ice or frozen gel packs.
  One drawback to this method is due to the shape and size of the ice or gel packs (hard rigid) these can cause severe pain by just resting on the inflamed part of the body.
  An alternative would be using a frozen bag of peas.
  Yes you read that right peas.
  Hitting a frozen bag of peas smartly on a counter top or table to loosen up the peas makes the bag easily form to the shape of foot or other inflamed joint due to the round smooth shape of the peas.
  An added benefit to this is there is no melting ice to deal with and the peas can be easily refrozen and reused again.
  

• Many gout sufferers have proclaimed relief by using heat.
  Studies have shown when using heat therapy some level of gout relief was attained.
  Heat is believed to help dissolve the crystals in joints that are contributing to the symptoms of gout toe.
  Using a heating pad on low heat for short periods of time has proven affective.
  Warm moist heat is another option.
  Simply placing a towel under hot water and squeezing out the excess and placing it on the affected area can help reduce pain.
  

• Drinking water for gout relief has been proven to work over the course of a few short days.
  Drinking eight ounces of water eight times a day (8x8 rule) helps lower the uric acid in your blood and allows the kidneys to absorb and eliminate the build up of uric acid via way of urine.
  

Sometimes the easiest solutions to a problem are everyday items that we take for granted.
When suffering from gout toe or any other form of gouty arthritis, having these items handy for gout relief should help and give varying levels of relief without the side affects that sometime accompany prescription medicines.