What should we do???

Question

Okay, Last night my husband stubbed his toe, and ended up kicking the wall with his other foot very hard because the pain i guess... Well, he just went on to bed, then when we got up this morning he wanted me to look at it, (It's his big toe by the way) His whole toe is swollen to about double the size almost, and it's pretty blue. I can't really tell if he broke it or not, It does look like it has a lump between the join and under the toenail, (that's also where most of the blue is) , But i'm not good at telling these kind of things...Could it be broken?? Also, i know if you break you little toe the docters can not do anything about it, is it the same with the big toe?? I'm not sure if he should go to the emergency room, or just get a docter's appointment (which usually takes weeks to get in, or if you say it's an emergency they will try and get you in within the next two days.) It is really hurting him so we're not sure what we should do??????

Answer 1

Based on the description and medicine in general... we will probably never know if it is broken with out an xray. So moving on to treatment: ice 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for the first 48 hours of the injury.

After that you can try switching to heat 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off or you can try ice/heat therapy after the first 48 hours of ice therapy. For the first 2 days we are trying to limit the swelling. So with that in mind he needs to elevate his toe above his knee, etc so that gravity can help pull some of the swelling off. The more his leg stays in a down position the more it will swell and hurt.

Obviously stay off the foot/toe so that it can rest. Hard sole shoes will probably be the best as they will limit motion of the toe. If he can take it, advil 600mg with a little bit of food will help with pain and will give an anti-inflammatory effect.

Answer 2

Go see a doctor. That description is good but we kinda need to see it so nobody can answwer this question unless they done it them selfs once.

I Suggest you go see a doctor straight away.

Answer 3

There is not much the dr's can do for broken toes other than prescribe pain medications and make sure it's not damaged in a way that isn't going to heal. I would go to the emergency room and let them have a look. If he doesn't want to go to the dr's then soak it in ice water for 20 mins and then 30 mins later soak it in hot water. Keep alternating like that through out the next few days. Good luck!