bunion?

I think I'm getting a bunion.  I have awful pain on the outside of the big toe joint on my right foot.  How I might ask, does one who has ALWAYS worn shoes for comfort, not fanciness, get a bunion?  Or the start of a bunion?  High heels have never been a footwear choice (seriously, the black old lady pumps I have, have only been worn a handful of times in the 8 years I've owned them).  Birkenstocks, Blundstones, Clarks and New Balance runners are the footwear of choice.  How on earth could those choices cause a bunion?

My hubs was just diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his hands.  I of course am highly suggestible.  Maybe it's not a bunion.  Maybe it's arthritis.  Maybe it's something I was born with, only now rearing it's ugly head.  That's reasonable, right?

It's not gout.  Of that I'm sure.  No swelling, heat or redness on the joint.  Or maybe it is.

I do know that this madness has to stop.  I cannot be getting a bunion to go with my Queen Elizabeth shoes. Not possible.

I will ask my awesome chiro/sports therapist.  Who I'm sure thinks I'm a complete hypochondriac.  But it's not him getting bunion.  Or needing a hip replacement (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration....)

How do you know if it's a bunion or not?  That is the question.