?? Broken toe in DD...to ER or treat at home??

[6_Time_Momma]

Okay, another of the controversial "Ask the DIS in stead of your doctor questions"

About 5-6 days ago, Brittany (8) whapped her toe on the wall. She didn't show me her toe until Sunday. It is not bruised, but the lower joint of the 2nd toe is very swollen (still today, even 5-6 days later). She can walk on it, but to lightly bump the top surface of the toe about brings her to tears. She is not bending it all the way when you ask her to bend her toe.

Now, I know with a broken toe, they generally just tape it. So, should I take her to ER to have them confirm/deny if it is broken or should I just treat it at home with taping for a few days at least? What more could/would they do for her in ER?

 

[Kallison]

I would call the pediatrician and have them advise. That is what we pay them for. I'm neurotic that way, I always call the ped.

 

[janette]

My experience when my DD broke her toe (she was about 5 then)

I took her to her regular Dr who looked it and said she didn't think it was broken. One of the reasons I rushed it was we were leaving for vacation the next day. Dr said if it was still swollen when we came back she'd do an xray.

Still swollen when we returned, took her in for an xray. It was broken, said to go to an orthopedic. Got very irriated at ortho drs because I couldn't find anyone that would see her before another 2 weeks. Finally found one that had an opening that week, went in they said it was broken and put some tape on it.

Moral of my story - all they are going to do is tape it. I wish someone had explained it to be before I was in a panic!

If it happened again I'd tape it and have Dr schedule an xray if they thought I should later. They also can't always tell if it's broken right away due to the swelling so waiting a few days won't make a difference.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

well me personally

Since it has already been 6 days, I'd try to get her into the Pediatrician this afternoon or wait until morning.

Given the fact that my health insurance has a $500 co-pay for ER visits and the fact that I've broken my little toe a couple of times and they didn't even tape it for me. :lol: :lol:

 

[janette]

Ooops missed that it's already been 6 days. Yes it probably is broken but her Dr should be able to schedule an xray without a visit to the ER. You probably won't even have to make a regular Dr appointment until after the xray unless they do them at their office.

 

[DemonLlama]

I broke two toes in high school (being stupid, of course) and my parents just taped it, iced it, and got me some crutches to use until the pain in my armpits was worse than walking on my foot (about a week).

 

[palmtreegirl]

I would take her to the doctor.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Originally posted by Kallison
I would call the pediatrician and have them advise. That is what we pay them for. I'm neurotic that way, I always call the ped.

They won't give out advise over the phone.

 

[BHFan25]

Kristy, Hunter broke her toe last summer by running into the wall. It was the pinky toe on her left foot. We took her to the ER and they Xrayed it. Ortho DR. read the Xray and since the toe was facing west instead of north He needed to put it back in the correct position. She received 2 shots to numb it and then he moved it and taped it and she was to wear one of the little shoes or a day or 2. He was very concerned about her "growth plate" being damaged or some such. But all was well.

 

[cart-mom]

I know this is a controversial subject but I recently broke my own toe when a frozen juice box feel out of the freezer. It hurt like heck for a while and turned pretty colors but I never went to the ER or my dr. They really don't do anything for a broken toe. My foot healed and I eventually went to my Podiatrist because I needed to have a bunion removed. The broken toe was on the other foot but since it was already operated on - he took an X-ray for comparison and confirme the break and sait it healed just fine and he would not have done anything had I come in to see him with it.

I would just make sure she wears loose shoes for a while and Motrin as needed. Of course, you should probably inform her Pediatrician but I wouldn't make a special trip just for that.

 

[wdwmom2]

I am a pediatric medical assistant and if someone called with this same story we would send them to our local diagnostic imaging services for an x-ray. If it was broken we would then send them to ortho. If the toe is not broken we would tell you to take ibuprofen and ice it. If it does not improve in several days, they should call us back. Hope this helps!!!

 

[Kermit]

I've broken my toe without ever going to a doctor. However, since it has been 6 days and it's still swollen, it might be worthwhile to have an x-ray just to confirm that the break is just a clean fracture and the bones aren't in the wrong place or anything.

I don't think the tape actually does anything. From what I've heard, the most important thing is to wear a shoe as soon as you can bear it to hold your toes in the right place while the bone grows back.

 

[epcotfan]

I broke mine last summer before going to WDW. I was hurrying around my apartment and I caught the toe on the corner of a wall. My pinky toe snapped to the right and stayed that way. Fortunately my mother (the RN) was there and she was able to put it back in place. My foot turned blue, and the toe wasn't exactly in the right place initially. She taped it up, put an ice pack on my foot and shoved ibuprofen in me. I couldn't walk for about a week. Thank goodness for ibuprofen and tylenol. I knew if I went to the ER (this happened in the evening) I would have been there all night. I took a wait and see attitude. If the swelling didn't go down and the pain didn't go away I would have gone to the doc. On the other hand I also knew if if I went to a Doc days later they would manipulate it which would have caused extreme pain. And, I didn't want any kind of cast/bandage since I was about to go away on vacation. Fortunately, after being home for about a week I was able to put shoes on again and my toe was set in place. It took about 10 days before I could walk. Probably 30 days before there was no pain at all. Binding it was the best thing to do. Just make sure to not cut off the circulation to the toe.

My only real concern was getting a blood clot. I kept my foot elevated and tried to move my toe when possible.

I think if your daughter has gone six days it has probably already started to heal. I would keep her off her feet. Make sure she has some comfortable, but secure shoes. Perhaps give some children's ibuprofen for the swelling and inflammation.

 

[AZKathy]

If you go ahead and tape the toes, make sure you put some cotton between the toes to keep the skin from breaking down.

I would skip the ED and call the doc. He/she will probably just send her for and xray and go from there. Don't waste your higher copayment for the ED.

 

[RNMOM]

{Advice nurse just has to jump in here.... }

The only big problem with foot injuries like this one is that one of the other metatarsals further up the foot can be broken, not just the toe. If the bone further up the foot is broken, it will require a cast. I would call the doctor in the am and let them decide if it needs xrays, etc. They can arrange to have her seen by an ortho for you if needed, maybe the same day.

Good luck and hope it is only a small toe injury.

 

[Alex]

I agree with RNMom that it can also break further up the foot and what BHfan25's doctor said about growth plates. There is no need to run to the ER BUT if there is a damaged growth plate, the child can have major problems down the road (this isn't an issue in adults)
Even though it SEEMS that "all they do is take an x-ray and tape it anyway" that isn't really true. They are looking for things that they may not tell you if they aren't there.
It's rare but it happens

 

[goofy4tink]

Yep, I broke mine further up too. It was really strange looking at the x-ray. I could see the breaks but since it was so far up the toe it didn't look right. Still, they only taped them together, for support. Then, I wasn't allowed to wear any shoe that would bend. That left out sneakers!!! I had to get some Merrill clogs. Pricey but they felt wonderful. The podiatrist told me that every time I allowed those toes to bend, I complicated the healing process.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Here's another vote for a visit to the pediatrician's office. It happened about a week ago? It's not an emergency anymore, and your copay there could be very expensive.

It sounds like it's only her toe, but if she fractured any weight-bearing bones, she'll need a cast to heel properly. Only an X-ray can tell for sure.

 

[janette]

Wondering how she's doing? Were they able to get you in for some xrays?